Bewitched
by nicola de lenfent
Summary: A confused Klaus finds himself bewitched by a Bennett witch as Bonnie prepares to duel with the Original hybrid. As they plan to manipulate, use and kill each other, feelings evolve that neither is prepared for. Cover Art by Alla-Matta (dot tumblr dot com). I really love it so much! please send her some love if you like it, too!
1. Prelude to a Kiss

**AN: I go into this knowing it will probably be super implausible considering how bad, bad, bad Klaus is and how righteous Bonnie is, but… let's give it a try!**

She tried to kill him. Twice. Ok, _once_ she tried to fake-kill him/fake-her-own-death while he was in Alaric's body, and once she tried to kill-him kill him. Same difference, right?

And yet, he found himself thinking about her at odd moments. Like when he left the scene of a soon-to-be murder (leaving Stefan to do the dirty work). The minute the night air hits his face – the moment before the screams begin – he thinks of her. In the morning after a full moon, when he is lying naked – arms spread in the dawn light – he thinks of her, and how she tried to stop the sacrifice. When one of his witches is too weak to finalize the transformation – he thinks of Bonnie Bennett and the power of a hundred witches lying dormant in her teenage palms.

_He needs her_, he reasons. That must be it: he needs her and her power to accomplish his goals, and her relationship with the doppelganger and with the Salvatore brothers is just icing on the cake.

_She's wasted on them_, he repeats in his mind. She is just sitting there as if she were a _normal_ teenager when she was so much more: she was an instrument in his plan.

When he first heard of her – saw, through Alaric's eyes, as she threw Damon across the room – he was intrigued. When she seemed so determined to kill him in the school, knowing that it would have killed her to do so – he was intrigued. She had made an impression on him even before she was standing over his body whipping wind in a frenzy of nature as she tried to finish him. Because she was powerful. Because she dared to stand against him – _and survive._

_It was revenge_, he thought with a devious smile on days he'd decided to pursue this strange fascination and somehow lure her into his fold. She needed to be punished for trying to kill him. She was a constant possible threat – a weapon – that needed to be taken out of the game (or _turned_ to his side). No one could try to kill him and survive! And everyone who had a role to play in that sloppy, sloppy sacrifice should be punished. Just like Elijah was. Just like Elena was. Just like Stefan was.

_It was a weakness_, a small voice in the back of his head toyed with him. The fact that he was thinking about her all the time – it was a flaw in an otherwise perfect human. And he would never be rid of it until he had her dead.

Or simply had her.

**KBKBKBKBKB**

_He deserves it_, Bonnie thought, burning another small memento from one of her moments with Klaus. She had been slowly burning to pieces the clothing she wore on the night of the sacrifice – the night she lost Jenna. The night she almost lost Caroline and Tyler and Elena.

She had been saying the same spell with such fierce determination that even she was surprised. She was sending it to _him_ in the smoke: sending him the pain, the anger, the frustration and the sorrow that he left in his wake. She wanted to feel everything she felt that night – every last twinge of anguish.

Yes, she wanted Klaus thinking of her: the last Bennett witch, the keeper of the power of a hundred witches.

Because then he would try to kill her, she thought with a wicked smirk. And she would be ready.

And she wouldn't quit until he was dead.


	2. Kiss or Kill

**AN: Thanks for the positive response (and reviews, favorites, etc)! Let's do thiiisss **

_**Kiss or Kill**_

The atmosphere in the Boarding House had been tense since Stefan left. When Damon wasn't spending time with his compelled fake-girlfriend Andy, he was brooding in some corner with his brow furrowed and his gaze distance. When Elena wasn't searching out every possible lead for Stefan's whereabouts, sobbing into his pillows or seeking a comforting word from Damon, she was – well, she was trying not to cry.

The Gilbert house was no better. Jeremy and Bonnie had grown distant since she resurrected him. Their relationship wasn't strong enough to withstand such a strange twist, and they had slowly stopped seeing each other – broken up without breaking up, a mutual halting of affection. Then there was Alaric, most tragic of all: Jenna had been stolen from him. Yes, Jeremy and Elena had lost their aunt. But Alaric had lost the love of his life for the second time, to vampires – and for the second time, to a vampire he had _known_. The first turned by Damon (his sometime friend), the latter turned and killed in cold blood for a vampire who had inhabited his body. He spent his days on the Gilbert couch in mourning.

The sadness was heavy – _too _heavy. And it all came down to Bonnie: the witch with the glitch. _Why didn't she just finish him when she had the chance?_

She walked into the Boarding House without knocking, knowing she would find the door unlocked.

She walked past the living room where Elena was sleeping, holding a picture of Stefan in one hand and her cell phone in the other. With a quick wave, she lifted a blanket from a nearby chair to drape over her friend's form.

Without faltering, she continued upstairs to Damon's bedroom.

Without flinching, she threw the door open, widened her stance, crossed her arms and frowned with one eyebrow arched.

"Damon," she said in greeting, watching Andy scramble to cover herself with the bed sheet.

"Bonnie," Andy let out a startled gasp.

"Bonnie," Damon replied in a more passive voice. Without taking his eyes off of her, he folded his hands behind his head and spoke to Andy: "Leave us."

"But, I—" Andy began, turning to meet Damon's eyes. Again, he said, "Leave us" and she did. She went into the bathroom and turned the shower on.

"Now," Damon turned his attention to me, "How can I help you, witch?"

"It's more like – how _I_ can help you," Bonnie said. She considered crossing the room, but before she could blink Damon was standing in front of her in nothing but a pair of low hanging jeans.

"How _can_ you help me?" He asked. His breath smelled of bourbon and blood. His intense, crazy eyes seemed lazier now – resigned, lost, _desperate_ but hopeless.

"I can bring Stefan back." Bonnie said, waiting two beats for her words to sink in. His eyes narrowed at her words. His fists clenched at his sides and she saw his suspicion in the way his clenched jaw ticked.

"How?" Damon asked.

"You once said," Bonnie paused a bit on the words, as if they were hard to peel from her tongue, "That you'd rather I die than Elena."

"I did," Damon said, unfazed. "And?"

"Trade me for him," Bonnie said, raising her chin confidently. "Trade me for Stefan."

"What makes you think Klaus would accept that?" Damon snorted.

"He will," Bonnie said, a sly smile curling at the corner of her lips. "I'm an all-powerful witch being handed over, no apparent strings attached. How could he resist?"

"And that would make me stupid," Damon said, the intensity returning to his eyes: "Giving my greatest weapon to our biggest enemy."

"I won't be with him for long," Bonnie said, meeting Damon's eyes. "I'm stronger now. I can take him."

Damon didn't seem to believe her – she could sense he was about to turn away. So she flicked her wrist and turned the beautiful bright day outside into a torrential storm. The glass windows broke and breeze came tumbling in, whipping her hair up in a frenzy. Even Damon had to steel his stance against the force of the storm (and Andy yelled out in surprise from somewhere forgotten) – but Bonnie seemed completely undisturbed, even _bored_ by the change. She flicked her wrist and it was calm again. Another tilt of her head, and the window was repaired: everything the same, as if she had rewound time.

Damon frowned, "It wasn't your power that stopped you last time. You're too _good_ to kill, Bonnie. You don't have it in you."

"There is no mercy left in me for him," Bonnie said resolutely.

"What about for me?" Damon said, "When he sends you to kill us, how do I know you won't be compelled? You won't be another one of his brainwashed witches?"

"If I am," Bonnie said, not pausing this time, "You have my permission to snap my neck."

"Even if," Damon continued loudly, spinning around on his heel as if he were thinking, "Klaus were to accept such a ridiculous deal – we don't even know where to find him."

"He's at the Grille." Bonnie said.

"If we knew where to find him," Damon continued speaking over her, "I would have brought Stefan back here myself and locked him in the basement until he came to his senses."

Bonnie said, more loudly this time. "He's back in Mystic Falls."

"He's…" Damon paused, turning around to face her again. "He's back?"

"He is," Bonnie said.

"How do you know?" Damon frowned, eyes narrowing as he approached her with a threatening gait.

_Because he wants me to know_, Bonnie thought, biting her tongue before the words slipped out.

"That's not important," she said instead, dismissing the vampire. "What's important is that, when the time is right – when he offers you the deal, you take it."

"_He_ is going to offer?"

"He is." Bonnie nodded firmly, "And when he does, don't think about me – just make the trade."

"I would have even if you didn't show up here," Damon said truthfully. Was it just her, or was there a hint of shame at the lengths to which he would go to please Elena?

"I know," Bonnie smiled for the first time, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "But now you can do it guilt free. And when Elena gets mad at you and tells you that you shouldn't have, and when Stefan gets mad at you and tells you that you were wrong you'll know you did the right thing. I'm asking for this," Bonnie spelled it out: "Me and Klaus. One on one. No more innocents around to get hurt. If anyone can take him, it's me."

"And if anyone can kill you," Damon spelled out just as slowly, "It's him."

**KBKBKBKBKB**

"Trust me," Klaus said into his phone. He had Stefan compelled in a room just outside of Mystic Falls, chained to a wall in an underground room where a pack of werewolves used to shift every full moon. "Killing Bonnie is the last thing I'd do."

_Quite literally_, he thought as he hung up. He would kill her, alright – if he's being honest. It was only _neat_ to tie up loose ends. But it would be the last thing he did to her. And he would even make it swift and painless, _if_ she was _good_ in all the best of ways. He smiled slyly at the thought, all of the strange sensations that had been plaguing him slowly creeping back to warm his body more pleasingly than a fresh body ever could.

"Klaus," a voice called his name from the back of the Grille, interrupting his delicious thoughts. None of the other customers moved or bat an eyelash as Bonnie sauntered her way to the bar to stand directly beside the hybrid.

"Bonnie," Klaus said in greeting, turning to her with an appraising glance that swept shamelessly across her body. He was pleased to see she didn't shudder at his gaze.

"Don't you look ravishing," Klaus said slowly, taking in the way her lips pursed in frustration. She was probably trying to scare him with her vicious glare, but it was only serving to make him want her more. "When you're not trying to kill me."

"A rare sight," Bonnie threatened.

"Making it all the more magnificent," Klaus nodded, raising his glass to his lips as if he were toasting her.

"Where's Stefan?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her. She leaned towards him, a seductive fire glowing from behind her green eyes.

"Busy," Klaus said simply. She seemed to tense at his words and he raised a hand to stop her – knowing she was on the verge of one of those bone-crushing spells, "Uh-uh-uh. Careful. One false move and I can change my mind about the life of Stefan Salvatore. The Ripper." The last word he spoke seemed to roll off of his tongue with unnatural, devilish ease.

Bonnie was unfazed. "If you tell me where he is, I _may_ kill you quickly."

"Unlikely," Klaus said easily. "You see this full bar? They've all been compelled."

"Good," Bonnie said, "So they won't notice when I break your neck." She barely moved her fingers and a loud crack sounded between them. Klaus let out a stifled groan at the pain, staring down at his broken hand as if in disbelief. When he turned back to her, popping his bones back together, his eyes were dark and devilish. Almost like he enjoyed it. _Eww._

"No," a smile tugged on the hybrid's lips that seemed so out of place as he raised his glass to take a sip, "But should I die in front of them, they have all been compelled to realize your secret. That you're hiding vampires in their midst." He said the last bit, again, with strange pleasure: "Killing their women."

"This should scare me?" Bonnie almost laughed, though her heart did thrum a bit harder at the thought of Caroline being attacked. _Again._

"It won't scare you when they come for Damon," Klaus conceded. He paused to take a sip now: "But when they come for Caroline, you will be powerless to protect her. And after I turn Elena…"

"Stefan wouldn't let you," Bonnie said before she could stop himself.

"Stefan," Klaus bit out the name, "Doesn't stop _me_ from doing _anything_."

"What do you want, _Klaus_?" she spat out his name like something bitter. Though she knew what he wanted – to use her powers, to kill her for tormenting him – she thought it best to pretend she didn't. _Let him think he came up with this all on his own._

"You will find out soon enough," Klaus said, his eyes trained on the rim of the glass that he traced with his fingers. The way she said his name sent a strange thrill up his spine, although he knew she meant it with malice.

"Remember," Klaus said with a condescending sweep of his eyes over Bonnie's angered face, "You only know of my presence because I want you to. I could have easily slipped in and out of town unnoticed."

"Why do you want me to know?" Bonnie pressed. Her lips curved at the edges now. Her hair fell delicately over her shoulders, and her skin was glowing with the promise of power. She looked more delicious than ever as he felt his fangs itch to taste her. _There was something about this witch…_

"Because," Klaus said, his eyes darkening. "When I take you – I want all of your little _friends_ to know that _I_ took you." He smiled now, looking more devious than even Damon with a strange twinkle in his eye. His smile was almost seductive as he said the last words, and – for a split second – she could tell why Greta had fallen for him: "And I want everyone to know that you came willingly. Because you will," he smiled at her, "come willingly."

Bonnie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and heard the screams of her friends echoing in her forehead again. She shook her head slightly to cast the foggy, hypnotic enticement from her mind.

"What makes you think I would do that?" she challenged. A part of her was afraid: a part of her that she couldn't show. She had cast a spell before coming to dull the sound of her heartbeat (the same spell she had cast to make herself appear dead the night of the '60s dance).

But she was afraid, and she knew it: afraid she couldn't take him, afraid she would end up dead before she had the chance, afraid she couldn't escape when she did willingly hand herself over to him. Because he was right. She would go willingly. But only because that was the only way she could face him one-on-one: outside of Mystic Falls, away from all of her friends whose safety he could use to manipulate her.

Klaus stood before her at vamp speed, that smile still dancing eerily across his lips.

She moved to step away, but he placed a firm hand on the small of her back and kept her in place. Bonnie tensed, preparing to use her magic again when he leaned forward. She blinked rapidly, startled at the face that was inches in front of her own.

_He was going to bite her!_ He was leaning closer, and closer. It was happening quickly and so slowly all at once – her mind was racing with spells and she couldn't figure out which to use. The voices of a hundred witches collided in her head, all demanding that she take different steps. Bonnie raised her hands between them, about to throw him away, when he did something that stopped her in her tracks.

He kissed her.

A soft, gentle peck, drawing her lip between his own.

A pause, an even stranger smile as she blinked the surreal moment away, and then he was gone. Out of the Grille. In a flash. All that remained were the echoes of the words that he had whispered against her lips: "_This._"


	3. Kiss and Tell

**Kiss and Tell**

There was something weird about Klaus when he walked into the basement dungeon. It was dark and damp, stone walls that were well insulated to keep the werewolf howls away from the public. Just on the edge of Mystic Falls, it pained and irritated Stefan to be so close and so _trapped_. He struggled against the restraints holding him to the wall – he was bound by his wrists by one of the many cuffs in the room. He had been struggling against them all night, considered biting his hands up to slide free, but it was hopeless.

When Klaus walked in – with that sly deviant smile on his lips – Stefan's arms dropped in defeat. _Had he seen her?_

Klaus's grin was answer enough as he took a seat on a stool in the corner. He had this glazed, distant look in his eyes that made Stefan gape. He shuffled a blood bag back and forth in his hands.

"What's wrong with your face?" Stefan frowned.

Klaus let out a huff of air that passed for a laugh. "This is my normal face."

"I know," Stefan said.

"Don't be so grumpy, Stefan," Klaus frowned. "I brought you home, didn't I?"

"What did you do to her?" Stefan's eyes narrowed. Klaus' weird fascination with Bonnie had begun a few weeks ago and had quickly escalated into an obsession almost as consuming as his need to create hybrids. And yet, he had dropped everything to come back here… it was so… foolhardy. Cocky. Idiotic.

"Nothing," Klaus said, drawling the words out slowly as if he was getting lost in a memory, "That she didn't enjoy."

"Your definition of enjoyment," Stefan said, "Is probably not the same as hers."

"Yet," Klaus said with a shrug of his shoulders. He walked up to Stefan and waved the blood bag in his face. "Now, _comrade_, are you hungry yet?"

"You refuse to let me feed," Stefan reminded him, eyeing the blood bag. He could feel the black veins start to protrude near his eyes.

"You refuse to answer my questions," Klaus scowled at him.

"Because she doesn't have any," Stefan said for the hundredth time. _Except her love for her friends. _"Bonnie had no weaknesses you can exploit. She has the power of a hundred witches. Whatever weaknesses she might have had are more than compensated by that."

"Perhaps," Klaus said.

"What do you even want her for?" Stefan pressed.

_I don't know_, Klaus heard the sentence bouncing around in his head. All he knew was that the longer he was in Mystic Falls, the less he thought of her with a nagging urgency. And the more he thought of her lovely lips against his own.

"You don't build an army when you're going to war," Klaus said finally, "You build it _now_, and no one dares to rise against you."

"Given up on hybrids, then," Stefan had concluded: "Going for a witch army."

"Something like that," Klaus said with that devilish smirk. "She didn't kill me," he thought out loud. "There is something in that."

"If you think that means she likes you," Stefan mocked with a roll of his eyes.

"No," Klaus rose his voice, glaring at the younger vampire to silence him. "No wonder you and your brother spend your lives without a string of logic or sense. You're missing the obvious."

"And that is?" Stefan grated out.

"There is a chink in the armour." Klaus said, his determination set in his forehead. He turned from Stefan, taking two steps before smashing the blood blag on the floor, squirting it under the heel of his boot. "And you're not feeding until you tell me what it is."

He only turned to smile wickedly when the chains rattled behind him. A thirsty vampire, protecting his last weapon. _How cute._

**KBKBKBKBKB**

"Something's up," Caroline said, joining Bonnie at the Mystic Grille. She turned her eyes to meet where Bonnie had been looking, "You've been staring at that seat all day."

"Oh," Bonnie said, shaking her head. The seat where Klaus had sat. No one had sat on it _all day_. It's like they knew what evil had been there before them. "Sorry, I'm a bit out of it."

"What's going on?" Caroline pressed with a pout.

"Nothing," Bonnie offered a weak smile.

"There's something," Caroline narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You're not usually this guarded. So it must be important." She paused to think, "It's not Elena, is it?"

"No," Bonnie said a bit too loudly, "No, no – Elena is fine."

"Stefan?" Caroline almost gasped, her eyes wide as if she too were starved for information about his whereabouts.

"Not Stefan," Bonnie's smile was more genuine this time. How relieved they would all be when Stefan was returned to them. When Klaus was dead. So what if she had to die to do it: what death could be more honorable than that?

"Well, it can't be Damon," Caroline rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "You'd never worry about him."

"He can take care of himself," Bonnie conceded. _And Elena. And Stefan. And he would have to – because she wouldn't be there to pick up the pieces when they realized she was gone._ She glanced at the chair again. Someone hovered over it as if considering if they should sit before walking away, eyeing it suspiciously – like they couldn't quite tell what was off with it. _Klaus_. Pure evil.

"It's a boy!" Caroline said suddenly, hitting the table a bit too loudly with her hand. Bonnie's drink jumped up and spilled onto the table.

"What? No," Bonnie shook her head, biting her lip from letting more "no, no, nos" slip out.

"You were staring at that chair, touching your lips," Caroline deduced, "Something is up with that chair and your lips. So either you kissed some guy last night _right there_, or you are weirdly attracted to a bar stool." She crossed her arms in front of her, leaning back as if she'd won. "Your choice."

"Okay," Bonnie conceded with a laugh. "There is… a guy. Sort of," she added the last part when Caroline's eyes lit up.

"Yes!" Caroline smiled, "It's about time you had some non-witchy-vamp-stuff in your life! Tell me all about him."

"Uhhh," Bonnie said, clearing her throat, "The thing is… if you must know…"

"I must," Caroline nodded.

"He caught me by surprise," Bonnie frowned. "I mean, I had no idea. We're not exactly… _friends_. We were in the middle of an… argument and he… just…" she glanced away, breaking eye contact, "kissed me. Sort of. More of a peck."

"Oh my God." Caroline's jaw dropped. "It was Damon."

"No!" Bonnie said. "Someone else. You don't know him."

"You know…" Caroline said, a sly smile appearing on her face. "If it's the whole kissed-you-by-surprise thing that has you thrown for a loop, you should do the same to him."

"Kiss him?" Bonnie made a horrified expression. Kiss _Klaus?_ She had to be kidding. How would kissing Klaus get her any closer to killing him? She had to do the opposite: she had to focus her magic and hit him at his most vulnerable. After they had Stefan back.

"Not that easy," Caroline corrected, "You have to up the ante. Do something crazy that he would never expect."

"You want me to jump a random." Bonnie deadpanned, unimpressed.

"Yes," Caroline said with a grin. "Element of surprise! You didn't win the battle last time, but you can definitely win the war."

_Win the war_, Bonnie though, letting Caroline's words ferment in her head. _Element of surprise._

_Well, if Klaus wanted to throw her off her game with a little kiss, then it's time to decimate his with something infinitely more wicked._

**KBKBKBKBKBKB**

There was a lake near the falls Mystic Falls was named for that was calling to him. He could smell it when he closed his eyes, could almost taste the motion of the rapids on his tongue. As he finished his dinner of compelled delivery man before allowing him – very generously – to wander back out in to the world (instead of feeding him to good old Stefan who still hadn't breathed a word of information worth having.. ugh, _her eyes are green? _He knows that, Stefan! How could he _not_ know that?), he had a sudden urge to visit the falls.

He hadn't seen Bonnie in town for a week. She was either hiding from him, or playing dangerously hard to get. He knew she was probably floating between the Salvatore Boarding House and her own home – but he wasn't stupid or _obvious_ enough to go staking those out. No, he would wait for the little witch to come to him. Unbidden. Willingly.

He made his way to the sound of rushing water, enjoying the night air, when he realized what he had come for. Because there she was, floating in the water, spotlighted by a lovely half-moon.

_Bonnie_. The word burst through his head before he even realized he was thinking it. Hopping down from his perch, he approached the water.

She looked like she had been dipped in glimmering gold: the dew drops of water that clung to her skin dazzled in the moonlight. Her hair lay in waves over one shoulder, disappearing into the water. And she was looking at him, eyes narrowed, lips pursed – like she was expecting him.

Klaus approached cautiously. She wasn't stupid. No, quite the contrary – she was a witch intent on killing him with the tricks of a hundred other witches (most of whom, also intent on killing him) rushing through her veins. No, Bonnie wasn't stupid – but neither was he.

Klaus stood at the edge of the water and smiled as he met her eye. Bonnie forced herself not to shudder when he didn't break their gaze for a second. _Stay focused_, she reminded herself. If he wouldn't turn away – neither would she!

He approached the water, perhaps planning to remain out of its depths, when she revealed her hand.

With a flip of her head, her hair was tossed behind her. She felt the tendrils drench with water and press against her skin. She took a step up onto the rock she had strategically placed before her.

And there it was: she knew the second he realized – could see the clench in his jaw even from the distance – the way his eyes flashed black and large.

Little Bonnie Bennett was in the water, Klaus realized: _naked_.


	4. Sink or Swim

**AN: Thank you for all of the reviews! I hope you're enjoying the madness as much as I am =) **

_**Sink or Swim**_

_Make him want me,_ Bonnie thought when she saw Klaus approach. That's the goal: get him to trade her for Stefan, get him alone, take him out. And then? Die. She'd be dead. But it would be worth it.

The water rushed and whirled around her, heating up with her magic intent even before she took a step onto the rock before her. The water dipped low against her in the moonlight, daring to reveal more than it did: it cut a clear line across her chest in line with the arms she crossed in front of herself (hoping she appeared more nonchalant-attitude than awkward-embarrassed).

"Miss Bennett," Klaus nodded in greeting. He stood his place, perhaps trying to keep from appearing eager, but even from where she was half a lake away, Bonnie could see his muscles tense. Even more, she _felt_ his gaze on her – locked on with single-minded purpose.

"That's a bit formal," Bonnie said, slinking back into the water a bit. Her collarbone and shoulders were still sleek and glittering and in his view. "_Considering_."

"Bonnie, then," he offered with a gentlemanly lilt in his voice. His hands were moving now: he started with the top button on his loose button-down shirt. She could almost hear when it clicked open – and then the next, and then the next – or was that her thundering heart?

_Calm_, Bonnie thought, taking a deep breath. And the waters seemed to calm with her: it was a still, cool night with a beautiful moon and a light, gentle breeze in the air.

"Waiting for someone?" Klaus's voice cut across the expanse to her and hit her skin as if he was standing right beside her.

She tensed at the thought and relaxed only long enough to reply: "Still am. You?"

"Waiting?" Klaus offered an almost nostalgic smile, "Yes, I suppose I still am."

He reached the last button on his shirt and shrugged his shoulders, letting it slide easily off of his form. He didn't turn to watch it hit the ground or make a move to attend to it. No, Klaus kept his eyes locked on Bonnie's – like a silent challenge, an unspoken dare – and she refused to be the first to budge.

_Not even for a second. Ok, maybe one quick glance at the strong arms and broad shoulders and… that's it. He didn't notice that. _Did_ he_?

He was still smiling in that secret way when her eyes returned to his face.

"What for?" Bonnie said, her voice more calm and in control that even she expected: "You have everything you wanted. Broke the curse. Killed Jenna."

"Jenna?" he said, stepping easily out of one sneaker by stepping on the back.

"The vampire," Bonnie glowered, "That you killed."

"Oh," he said, stepping out of the other one. "Friend of yours?"

"They are all _friends of mine_," Bonnie said. The lake wasn't quite as calm anymore: the wind had started to kick up and make the surface choppy. She had to be careful, she realized, or she would end up drowning herself before she ever got the chance to attack.

"Friends," Klaus warned condescendingly as he kicked the other shoe free, "Are disposable."

"Says a man who has none."

"Touche." Klaus smiled.

He smiled, and for a second she forgot she was talking to a murderer. _A second_.

"What am I doing out here?" Klaus asked, taking a step closer to the water. His hands lowered to the waist band of his jeans, and Bonnie struggled to keep her eyes focused. Under the water, her hands were splayed out and waiting for the perfect moment to attack. "I know you brought me here."

"Here?" Bonnie said slowly. "To the lake?"

"Yes," Klaus frowned. "I don't have time for these games."

Klaus eyed the witch cautiously. It was a strange and melancholy night: the way the clouds darted across the sky to expose and hide the moonlight in ways that best advantaged the siren in the lake – no doubt an attribute of her magic, conscious or not. She had obviously brought him here – pulled him out into the night, tempted him to come to the lake: another string of her magic, conscious or not. Which made him wonder.

_Consciously done, it meant she purposely wanted to see him_. For some reason, the thought sent a sharp chill down his spine. He felt the rush of her desire even as she devoured him with her eyes – even as she dared not let them drop to the waist band of his jeans as he undid the buttons.

_Unconsciously done, it meant her magic was picking up on unrealized desires._ He pulled the zip down, and was surprised to see his jeans fall to the floor when Bonnie snapped her fingers.

Yup, he liked the second one better.

"No time?" Bonnie arched a brow at him, pushing herself further into the lake. She kicked her feet out below her and no longer found solid ground. _Treading water._ "But we're just getting started."

"Finally, the witch is right about something." Klaus muttered as he stepped out of his jeans. Their eyes were still locked, and the gaze was intoxicating: he couldn't remember the last time (had there ever been a time) he had stared so long into someone's eyes without it being in contempt, part of some kind of torture, because they were dead or compelled or, truth be told, about to disappoint him.

"Ah-ah-ah," Bonnie stopped him with a little magical nudge to the shoulder. "You didn't think you'd get to just jump in, did you?"

"Like you could stop me." Klaus smirked. He took (not so) secret joy in crossing his arms in front of his chest, rolling his shoulders and, basically, providing Bonnie with a show she should be grateful to be privy to.

Bonnie shot him a look that said, _don't test me_, but said: "What are you doing in Mystic Falls?"

"I seemed to have," he dropped his arms and took a few steps to the water as he drawled the words: "_forgotten_ something."

_The doppelganger?_ He knew Elena was alive and had come back to finish her? Bonnie frowned, _hadn't her spell done anything? _He wasn't reeling from the pain of their tortured emotions. _Fine_, maybe that was asking too much. But he didn't even seem to acknowledge them! They were nothing to him! The pain and heartbreak – the death and desperation, all of that loneliness and lost hope – it was like it didn't affect him at all.

"Oh?" Bonnie kept her response short to disguise her anger, watching as he dipped a toe into the water.

"Lost a witch," Klaus said of Greta, stepping forward into the water. "Take a witch."

Bonnie clenched her teeth. "You've come for me."

"Yes," Klaus said, gliding through the water like it was effortless.

The thought sent a sinking to her stomach she didn't expect to feel.

Stefan _the Ripper_, he had called him. What would she become in his hands? Bonnie the Fire Starter? Bonnie the Destroyer? Bonnie, the girl who never was.

"You want my powers," Bonnie said slowly, like she was contemplating it. Something switched about his gaze – for a moment, it felt like he was not fully with her.

And then, slowly: "Yes."

Klaus was moving faster now. His knees were gone. Soon his hips. Then he'd be swimming. To her.

"My allegiance?" Bonnie said, trying to buy time.

"More," Klaus nodded, skimming through the water. His movements were effortless. He could have been beside her in seconds. Her: the glimmering, golden witch without a stitch of clothes on, floating in the water, waiting for him. Toying with him – testing him – feeling him out, maybe: but still, waiting for him. He licked his lips at the thought.

"More?" Bonnie frowned. He was almost where she wanted him. Just a few more feet.

"You will come with me," Klaus reminded her. "Willingly."

"Why would I do that?" Bonnie couldn't help the angered pitch her voice took. "You're a murderer."

"As are you," Klaus said.

"I am a protector." Bonnie said. "I'm the last of my line."

"No, _I_ am the last of my line," Klaus returned her tone, "I am the one in need of protection."

"You're evil," Bonnie shook her head. Just a little bit more, and he'd be _right there!_ "You have so much death on your hands."

"Death," Klaus sighed, "is something only mortals fear."

"You should," Bonnie said. Hands still under water, she began to twirl her fingers, beckoning her plan to begin even as the enemy quickly approached. "Fear death."

"I have lived too long to fear it," Klaus said. He moved forward as he spoke and then finally – finally – was in the right spot. "I have lived too long to not know there are darker things than death."

"Spoken like a true psychopath," Bonnie said, taking a quick inhale of breath before slipping underwater. She hadn't been under for even a second when she felt Klaus' presence under the water with her. Looking at her. She felt his eyes on her. But not for long!

Bonnie shoved her hands out in front of her, as if she were sending sonic waves from her hands outwards to hit the beast before her. The earth cracked underneath the lake. It shifted and slid, shaking the entire lake and engulfing them both in a sudden torrent that Bonnie hadn't expected. The water rushed up, engulfing them both.

_Bonnie_, she almost heard her name being called – felt the arm whip out to grab her and pin her to him. She fought against him and found herself emerging from the water, surfacing from the lake that just grew deeper as the earth began to crumble beneath them and reveal the roots.

"Get off of me!" Bonnie yelled, firing aneurysms at the hybrid as he tried to approach. He gritted his teeth but moved forward anyway. Soon, his arms were around her waist, pulling her towards him.

_Ok, he was strong_, Bonnie frowned, _and too good of a swimmer._

"Stop it," Klaus barked at her. He was as soaked as she was now – water dripping in rivulets down his face. His hair clung to him and – being held up close to his body – even the stubble on his cheeks glimmered from the dew. "You'll kill yourself!"

"And deprive you of that pleasure?" Bonnie snarled, shoving him off of her. _He's deadly_, she reminded herself. He might want her power (or her body) now, but anything could set him off. Any second, he could change his mind and snap her neck.

Klaus barely budged. The water was torrential: matching Bonnie's mood and fury. It hit him from either side. He had never been one for swimming, but the knowledge that he couldn't die by drowning only spurred him on. _She could die_, he thought. And all that precious power could die with her. He grabbed for her again, but she kicked out and swam away.

"Any second now," she said as she heard him pant.

And then he felt it.

Wolf's bane. In the water. Under the Earth, seeping into the water, so much Wolf's Bane. And vervaine: like vines, reaching out into the water from the other side of the lake towards the centre. It must have been a lot, because he could feel the pain seeping into his skin. His whole body felt like it was on fire. It was in the water as it rushed down his throat and up his nose from the suddenly angry water. It wrapped around him, felt like it was crushing his lungs and tearing his insides apart.

_She was dangerous_, Klaus realized suddenly. Not as timid as she was before – full of tricks he hadn't anticipated. She was dangerous, trying to kill him, and yet he found that so… intoxicating.

Bonnie broke their shared gaze on a quick inhale before slipping underwater. When she emerged, her hair was completely soaked and matted to her body, dripping in curls over one part of her chest. She was doused in it: trying to make herself untouchable_._

"I could kill you," she spat, raising her arms and send a wave of water rushing towards him. She was manoeuvring in the water, trying to find her way back to shore.

"Not… kill," Klaus breathed out through tortured breaths, "Maim… maybe…"

She sent another torrent of water to him, raising her arms as if pushing something off her shoulders. With her motions, the wolf's bane and vervaine that was hidden at the bottom of the lack spiralled up to grab at him.

"I will _never_ go with you," Bonnie insisted as he was taken under.

"Never say never," Klaus taunted after he surfaced, spiralling through the water towards her.

She glared at him and snapped his wrist back. He roared in pain, so she snapped the other as he tried to bend his fingers back in place.

"I _will_ kill you, Klaus," Bonnie promised in a low voice, barely a whisper above the rushing water. "This ends with us."

Klaus' reply – whatever it was – was drowned in the sound of him choking on another wave of wolf bane and vervaine tainted lake water.

Bonnie hurried to the shore and got out when she realized she had left her clothes on _the other side_ of the lake. Frowning, she grabbed Klaus' button down and put it on for some semblance of modesty. It clung to her wet skin still. She slipped her toes into his shoes and, grabbing his jeans, and making her way into the night.

**KBKBKBKBKB**

"Not a good night?" Stefan said, raising a brow as Klaus strutted into the dungeon in a pair of jeans a size too small. They button at the top wasn't clasped to keep it on, and it clung to his legs in a very un-Klaus like manner.

"Depends on your perspective," Klaus said, shaking his head in a very wolf-like manner to spray the last bit of water from his scalp. Whatever red wounds or marks had clung to his skin healed quickly as the water was displaced.

"Not looking too good from where I'm standing," Stefan said, rattling the chains slightly as he spoke.

"I saw your little witch again," Klaus offered a smile that was more menacing than friendly, "All of her."

"What do you _really _want with her?" Stefan barked for what must have been the millionth time. Klaus dragged the stool across the brick ground, making a sick clinking noise as he came closer to the younger vampire.

"Stefan," Klaus said as the stool clink-clinked. Stefan forced his head to keep from hanging low though the pangs of hunger were getting to him. "I would think you would have figured that out by now."

"You want a witch," Stefan rolled his eyes, "Predictable."

"For her powers, yes," Klaus conceded, setting the stool down and taking a seat casually. "Her power is," he paused as if he was getting some kind of sick thrill from it, "Unmatched."

"And when you're done with her, you'll kill her," Stefan frowned.

"Loose ends," Klaus dismissed him with the wave of his hand. "Best to keep things tidy."

"Doesn't take much deduction to get to that point, Klaus," Stefan frowned. "You've charmed and killed many witches before."

"True," Klaus nodded, inspecting his arms as if for wounds he may have missed, "But it's not the using and the killing that is so interesting about this offer."

He took a bite from his wrist, watching the blood seep out momentarily before raising it to Stefan's face. Holding it above him, he let it drip down Stefan's face and into his mouth. No matter how much the young vampire protested, he was too hungry and weak to resist the temptation of such powerful blood.

"It's everything that comes in between," Klaus said, watching Stefan under his throes.

Yes, he wanted to use her power to his advantage in any and every way he could. Yes, he would most likely kill the young thing – snap her neck, leave her in a ditch somewhere. Maybe on the Salvatore's doorstep – who knows, really? But that wasn't what was drawing him. No, after tonight more than ever he knew: he wanted to be near her. He wanted to be around her. He enjoyed the rush of power that sparked between them – and to chase that to the end, what greater amusement was there? No dying pack of rabid turned-werewolf vamps could provide nearly so much a thrill as turning sweet, good, pure Bonnie Bennett and her seductive charms to the dark side. To his side. With the same unerring loyalty he had won from every witch who had ever come before her.

"Maybe you can answer me this, Stefan," Klaus withdrew his hand momentarily, "Why the doppelganger? Over Bonnie? She is as self-righteous and hero-complexed as you. Why not the witch?"

"You like her," Stefan muttered, Klaus's blood dripping from his lips, "You _like_ Bonnie."

"I have no time for these human emotions," Klaus' face hardened. He pushed the stool down. He didn't do _like_ or, even more unlikely, _love_.

"She amuses me," Klaus said at last when he reached the door, "Life is long enough without a degree of amusement. And your brooding bores me. Perhaps it's time I replaced you."

Stefan gaped, opening his mouth to protest when Klaus pinned him with a vicious glare.

"Don't fret, Salvatore," he assured him: "It's what Bonnie Bennett would want."


	5. Trick or Trade

**AN: THANK YOU for all of the reviews! Thanks for all of the suggestions, too! I'm keeping it all in mind. We're gonna make Klaus+Bonnie work! Woohoo!**

**5 – Trick or Trade**

"What do you mean he was wandering around," Bonnie lowered her voice, trying to keep the redness from rising in her cheeks, "_naked_?"

"Not naked," Elena corrected. "Pants-less."

They were in the Salvatore boarding house after school. Bonnie had volunteered to come over and be Elena's study-buddy although she (and Damon, who would arrive any minute) knew studying was the last thing on her mind. She needed a minute with Damon _without_ Elena there; and yet she was _always _there – hovering at the Boarding House as if Stefan would jump out of the closet and say hi. Not that Bonnie minded, she realized with a pang in her chest: that hopeful rise of brow that lit up Elena's face every time the door swung open, and the way her entire expression dimmed and tightened when it wasn't Stefan, was enough to make any best friend be willing to do anything – _even study for a history exam she was guaranteed to pass when a psycho Original vampire was out plotting his revenge_ – to make it all better.

"Pants-less?" Bonnie repeated, blinking at her friend. "Why would Jeremy be walking around pants-less in the middle of the night?"

"He doesn't… remember," Elena said, "Or so he claims."

"This could only mean one thing," Bonnie sighed, shaking her head. _Klaus_. He stole Jeremy's pants when she left him sans clothes at the lake. Of course he did.

"You don't think…" Elena hesitated, and Bonnie realized she had spoken the words out loud. Would Elena realize it? Would she figure out that only a vampire could have stolen Jeremy's clothes and compelled him to forget? Bonnie shifted awkwardly in her seat, not even realizing when she was tottering on the edge until Elena finished – "he's been hanging out with the wrong crowd again?" – and she laughed so loudly she almost fell from the chair.

"What, you mean like," Bonnie grinned, "getting high in the woods?"

"Why else would he lose his pants?" Elena frowned, whispering in rushed tones.

"Maybe he met someone?" Damon interrupted, sly smile already plastered across his face.

Elena turned to glower at Damon, but even then the spark was gone from her eyes. They spent a tense moment staring at each other and Bonnie cleared her throat to break the silence.

"You're right," Damon said, not breaking eye contact with Elena, "Jeremy? Meet someone? That's even more unlikely than vampires," his eyes widened, "and witches," they went all crazy again: "and ghosts."

"Bonnie," Elena turned quickly to her friend, moving from her seat and physically pushing herself to stand up from the table, "I'm going to put some coffee on. Would you like some?"

"Sure," Bonnie smiled at her friend. It wasn't a beat after she left when Damon zoomed into her chair and narrowed his icy-blues at her.

"Stefan's in town," Damon said, his face lost somewhere between a smile and a sneer. Bonnie couldn't tell if he was pleased or annoyed.

"I know," Bonnie frowned, _hadn't she told him that?_

"We should get to him while Klaus is," Damon appraised Bonnie with his eyes. He didn't even attempt to hide the way his eyes ran over her body and she felt even more exposed and judged than she had the night before, "_occupied._"

"What does that mean?" Bonnie gaped.

"Oh, please," Damon rolled his eyes dramatically before lowering his voice: "I can _smell_ him on you."

"Get over yourself," Bonnie frowned, pushing past him.

"So, maybe I can't smell _hybrid_," Damon conceded, watching as Bonnie spread the map before her. "But there's definitely a scent of _wet dog_, and since Lockwood is pretty occupied himself these days…"

"I saw him last night." Bonnie said.

"You-What?" Damon barked at her. It was almost enough to send a sane person jumping out of their skin!

"I saw him last night," Bonnie repeated more firmly.

"And?" Damon asked. The sneer was barely there now. Well, it was there – but it was so obviously insincere. Like he didn't think she could do it, and wanted to save face when she finally gave up and came to him for help.

"And I think he knows I mean business," Bonnie forced herself to sound confident. Klaus didn't seem to be interested in a trade, _yet_ but she could at least find where Stefan was. Just in case.

"How so?" Damon asked – skeptic until the end.

"I drowned him in wolf's bane." Bonnie shrugged. "I don't think he found it quite as enjoyable as I did; but then again, it _is_ Klaus so you never know."

"I thought the idea was to get him to _want _to trade Stefan for you," Damon frowned. "Are you trying to kill him, or charm him?"

"Fear, death, seduction," Bonnie muttered as she began to lay out the candles, "In this world, is there a difference?"

"So, what's the plan?" Damon asked. Bonnie almost laughed: it looked like it physically pained him to actually leave the scheming to someone else.

"He'll contact you," Bonnie said firmly. "You get Stefan back. I kill Klaus."

"The dagger won't be enough," Damon reminded her.

"You get Stefan back. I kill Klaus," Bonnie reiterated, her voice barely audible as Elena walked back into the room, "I _die_."

**KBKBKBKBKB**

Bonnie was standing in a field when she opened her eyes. It stretched for days before her and behind her in either direction. There were a few old oak trees in the distance – the only things marring the northern horizon. The wind was crisp and cool, but not unwelcome. Looking down, she saw herself dressed in a simple, long white dress with long sleeves that billowed up and pressed against her form with the whims of the wind. She took a step forward, and was surprised by the cool feel of the grass under her foot.

This world, with its dazzling sunset of salmon pink and dull oranges fading into that almost-navy blue sky, was beautiful.

But it was also strange. She took a few steps forward – towards the trees – but didn't seem to get anywhere. She turned and walked in the other direction, with the wind, and felt her hair blowing up to slap her in the face. She struggled to hold it back with both hands as she squinted against the breeze to see.

There were no telephone poles, she realized. She spun around, hoping to spot some in the distance, but no – there were no telephone poles, and no electric wires. No houses. No cars honking in the distance. No rowdy crowds or teenagers. Nothing.

But the silhouette on the horizon. A tall, lean figure stalking towards her.

Bonnie raised her hands towards him defensively, her mind whizzing with any magical tricks she could use

"You called me here," Bonnie spat like an accusation.

"Bonnie, Bonnie," Klaus teased, "Is it my fault if you dream of me?"

"This isn't my dream," Bonnie said, looking around. It was a dream world: maybe a memory, maybe something new entirely. But it was cold and foreign and not her own.

"I suppose it can't be," Klaus made an appraising face as he glanced around, appearing to be disappointed with the scene. Bonnie shivered when he turned his eyes to her, "Your ideas tend to be so much _wetter_. And involve less clothes."

Bonnie smirked, "A place this boring and droll can only be an invention of yours, _Klaus_."

"I love it when you say my name," he said, shaking his head. His hands were still clasped behind his back as he strolled towards her, "like it's a curse."

"Might as well be," Bonnie said. She didn't move out of the way or make an attempt to flee (what point was there in that, really?). Instead, she planted her feet firmly into the ground and focused on building her strength up in her palms. _Can you die in dreams?_

"Harsh," Klaus said, making a face like he was hurt, "Considering I've brought you a present." He smiled now – that genuine smile that unnerved Bonnie. It made her think of Klaus as a child, smiling up innocently at his family. _Before he killed them_.

"The present isn't you," Bonnie made a disgusted expression, "is it?"

"Funny," Klaus said, removing his hands from behind his back. Bonnie braced herself for whatever nightmare Klaus could dream up, but was totally unprepared for what she saw.

Flowers.

Klaus held a handful of beautiful purple blossoms that seemed to keep blooming the more she looked at them – until there were big purple petals curving around his fingers.

"What's the trick?" Bonnie frowned when he extended them to her.

"No trick," Klaus said with a sly smile. He held one up in his free hand as if studying it.

"They're nice…" Bonnie began.

"She loves me," Klaus said, tossing a flower to the ground and picking up another.

"_BUT_ creepy." Bonnie took a step back as Klaus approached. As soon as it hit the ground, the blossom cracked into a dozen petals as if it were made of glass.

"She loves me not," Klaus frowned, tossing another aside.

"What's wrong with them?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes.

"They just need a gentle touch," Klaus said, his voice barely above a whisper. But he pinned her with his eyes, let his gaze linger on hers, and she felt like his voice was the only sound in the world. "Like me."

The next flower fell with a knowing smile – like he could feel the effect he had on her: _she loves me_.

Bonnie snorted. "The last thing that touched you _gently_ is probably dead somewhere."

Klaus dropped another flower. _She loves me not._

"No," Klaus said, "She isn't." His eyes were still practically attached to hers. He took a step forward and she took one back. Like a sick dance.

"My _touch_ wasn't exactly gentle," Bonnie frowned. Seriously? She'd almost drowned him! How could a guy misread that signal?

"Your last one, perhaps not," Klaus conceded, dropping another flower. He didn't continue, but he knew he made his point when he saw her cheeks light up red hot: with embarrassment or fury - either way, the color suited her.

"You kissed me," Bonnie narrowed her eyes. She was tempted to cross her arms in frustration or clench her fists, but she knew her hands were best unoccupied and open – she could feel the charge of magic strong even in this dream world.

She stopped moving and a few flower tosses more had him standing a hand's breadth from her.

"I think the _she loves me_'s have it," Klaus taunted, leaning down to meet her eyes.

"In your dreams," Bonnie smirked, turning to add as she walked away: "Or delusions."

She glanced at the flowers in his hand and tossed them with a flutter of her lashes. They spilled around Klaus, but he leaned forward to pick one up easily as the others shattered like glass around him. He caught it in mid-air, careful not to damage the fragile plant.

He paused to look up at Bonnie who remained shocked. Her jaw ticked, like she was fuming and hadn't yet found the words to express it.

"You will come willingly," Klaus said ominously, twirling the last flower in his hand. "When we leave this place."

"Give me one good reason why I should go anywhere with you." Bonnie said.

"You're bored of the baby vamps of Mystic Falls?" He offered. She frowned and shook her head.

"You think I'm handsome." He smiled, head down, looking almost up at her in a way that made her heart flutter. Almost flutter. _ALMOST _flutter, Bennett!

"Try again," she snorted.

"You want to," he said simply. "You're too powerful for this town. Unappreciated. Always overseen – the first to have her throat ripped out and sacrificed."

Bonnie frowned, "That's not true."

"Isn't it?" Klaus said, his voice suddenly cutting and fierce. "Isn't that what you wanted me to feel when you sent your heart break my way?"

Bonnie gaped, stunned, "Wh-what?"

"Don't play coy with me," Klaus said, striding forward until he was directly in front of her. If he had a heart, she could've heard it beating. Pounding. Like hers was. "You think I don't know when a witch is trying to seduce me with her pain?"

"Seduce?" Bonnie scoffed, almost laughing at the thought. "I was trying to teach you sorrow and regret."

"Really?" Klaus teased, eyeing her as if she had been found out and should give up the game. She had sent him her pain and he easily knew the source. But he hadn't felt sorrow for it. Or the regret she intended. No, the only thing he regretted was that he hadn't scooped her up and taken her in the first place the second he realized someone like her existed.

"Yes!" Bonnie said a bit too loudly. "You should know all the pain you caused! Jenna is _dead_, because of you. _Elena_ was hurt because of you. Not to mention Stefan and all the other countless bodies you have left in your wake!"

"Bonnie," Klaus began in an almost patronizing tone that made her roll her eyes, "You are the most powerful witch in the state – possibly the country. You're beautiful," She broke their gaze then – and he noticed, "And young. You shouldn't have to give up your life to protect anyone. They should be falling over themselves to die for you."

"I don't want anyone to die for me," Bonnie said, raising her eyes to his again.

"Ah," Klaus said, looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, "The one thing you've said that I believe."

"I would do _anything_ to protect the people I love," Bonnie said. She could feel the power surging up in her fingers again. It was like she was fueled by her righteousness – her sense of justice – her need to keep something in her world sane and pure and good. The more he irritated her, the more powerful she felt.

"Something else believable," Klaus conceded.

"Except go with you," Bonnie spat, "_willingly._"

"You will be the death of me," Klaus said with exaggerated exhaustion, rolling his eyes as if in frustration. Then he straightened his frame and smirked, "How do you say it? _In your dreams_."

Bonnie frowned, "Don't tempt me, Klaus." She turned and stormed away – making good distance between them, not sure where she was going (or if she was going at all as the horizon never changed). But then she felt his hands graze her waist, tugging lightly at the fabric of her dress.

She stilled and the world seemed to shake and still at once. He was standing behind her, had let a hand rest casually on the curve of her hip – her skin seemed to burn here he touched. The other hand traced her lips with the blossom. He pulled the flower up and over the curves of her cheeks, pausing let it rest for a moment on her closed eyes. She let out a held breath of frustration and tried to move from his grip. Her teeth hurt from how much she was gritting her teeth to keep from screaming at him! It felt… _weird_ and _uncomfortable_ being here in this strange half embrace with him.

Bonnie swatted at his hand at her hip and was surprised when it fell easily away.

"Don't force my hand, Bennett," Klaus whispered at her ear. He drew the blossom along her collarbone and Bonnie shivered at the sudden contact. His breath hit the side of her cheek as he continued, "You will be my ally, or no one's."

"I _am_ no one's ally," Bonnie said firmly, whipping around to scold him. But Klaus caught her easily as if they were spinning in a dance, placing his hand on the small of her back and not budging when she instinctively jutted out her chin towards him. He didn't move, and her sudden actions only brought them closer: she could almost hear the wolf humming under the vampire's visage.

"Are you sure you don't want to rethink your answer?" Klaus frowned. His face was closer now, his pink lips filling her vision. His stubble brushed against her cheek as he leaned against her, and Bonnie was shocked at how warm he was: not the cool touch of a Salvatore or as hot as Tyler when the full moon approached – just _warm_. Almost human. _Almost_.

Bonnie pushed Klaus off of her with all the strength of her body and magic. The flower fell from his hand as he stumbled back. Another flick of her wrist and he fell backwards, landing hard on his back. She shot the falling flower with her eyes and it exploded into a dozen small petals than fell easily to the grassy field like a curtain separating them – he, sprawled on the ground clutching his side – she, standing above him menacingly, the skirt of her long white dress flapping like a sail in the breeze. Her extended hand fell to her side, and the brush of her skin against the dress was loud in this eerie silence.

Their gaze was unbroken when she said: "I am no one's ally."

"You leave me no choice," he said as he pinned her with that look – that devouring, desperate look that had overcome him at the lake, and her next words almost caught in her throat.

Then the grass brushed her ankle, the wind whipped up, and she widened her stance to secure her footing. Feeling grounded again, she rose her voice to speak over him, "I will go."

"You…" Klaus said, feeling the words dry up on his tongue. He rose to his feet before her, unfurling to his full height. He made a move to approach her, but she extended her hand to keep him in his place.

"I will go with you," Bonnie said firmly, "But only if Stefan is freed."

"It is done," Klaus said, clasping his hands behind his back like a gentleman. He took a step towards her, and Bonnie held her ground. She felt flames dancing around her fingertips, waiting for her to call on him.

She took a few steps back quickly – almost playfully – as Klaus strolled towards her. A smile lit up her face as the wind rushed up and threw her hair around her in a riot of furious black curls. She extended her hands as if she planned to embrace him in a hug – as if she was waiting for him to scoop her into his arms. But instead: the hot, hot heat of a field on fire.

Bonnie Bennett had started a fire. And the only way out of it, she grinned at the fading image of the Original, was to wake up.

**KBKBKBKBKB**

"Pathetic," Klaus said, watching Damon stroll out of the Mystic Grille. He had been drinking, and even his vampire speed was a big sluggish. There was something odd about the young vampire. Klaus eyed him with practiced nonchalance, "Not surprised to see me."

"The Undead Dog," Damon proclaimed. "What took you so long to say hello?"

"I was occupied," Klaus said simply, folding his hands behind his back.

"I'll bet," Damon frowned, smelling the alcohol on his own breath. "I suppose my brother is treating you well?"

"Enough of the niceties," Klaus said impatiently.

"What do you want?" Damon snared.

"To make you a deal."

"The terms?"

"I'll let you live if you bring me Bonnie Bennett." Klaus said.

"Not happening." Damon frowned, turning away.

"I'll let Stefan live," Klaus corrected, "_when_ you bring me Bonnie Bennett."

"What makes you think I would give you _Bonnie_ for a blood-addict like Stefan?" Damon narrowed his eyes at Klaus.

"Regret," he said simply.

"And you need me for this plan _because_…?" Damon frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Bonnie had been right: here was Klaus, offering

"She hasn't left her house," Klaus frowned. "I haven't been invited in."

"And how do you know that?" Damon asked pointedly and received a glare in response, "Well, _I_ can't invite you in."

"Deliver her to me." Klaus said. "And you can have your brother back."

"What makes you think I could bring an all powerful witch to her certain death?" Damon said. He took a few steps away from Klaus, staggering a bit as he walked. He wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it all was: Stefan traded himself for Damon's life, now Damon was trading the witch for Stefan's when the original plan had been to sacrifice Bonnie for Elena to prevent Klaus from sacrificing Elena for himself. _They really played fast and loose with these life and death situations_, Damon almost rolled his eyes at the thought.

"She won't fight you," Klaus said, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt as if bored.

"How?" Damon grated out. _Did he know that Bonnie wanted this trade?_

"Have you ever heard of Puck's blossom?" Klaus asked, "The sleeping juice will make it near _impossible_ to be woken."

"You poisoned her." Damon narrowed his eyes at the vampire.

"She sleeps but I can wake her," Klaus assured him, raising his sleeve to reveal a wilting purple blossom resting against his wrist, "If I can get to her in time."

"The poison will wear off," Damon said, "Or I can force feed her some blood."

"Not fast enough," Klaus said, shaking his head. "You see, Bonnie can't wake herself up. She is trapped in a dream. And what she dreams of will have her dead in about," he glanced at his watch, "Sixty four seconds?"

Damon frowned, he was itching to go vamp-speed to the Bennett house to fix the witch. _But he couldn't wake her fast enough._

"What is she dreaming of?" Damon challenged.

"Raging fire," Klaus said, "Smoke inhalation," he shook his head, tsk-tsking as he approached Damon: "Deadly to humans, apparently."

"You want me to bring her to you so you can save her," Damon scoffed.

"Precisely," Klaus said with a curt nod that seemed so out of place with the taunting curve of his lip.

"So you can kill her." Damon's hands fisted at his sides. There had never been another way – Bonnie was right. She would die of this poison,

"You have five seconds to decide," Klaus said.

"How do I know you'll give up Stefan?" Damon said, turning sharply to meet Klaus' eyes fearlessly.

"He's already yours," Klaus promised. The way his lips curved into a wicked smile sent a chill down even Damon's back. "I've already released him in town. Bring me Bonnie and I'll tell you where."

"If you've released him, he'll come back to Mystic Falls," Damon said, but even his smugness seemed unsure.

"Poor, _starved_ Ripper," Klaus taunted. "How many bodies will he leave in his wake on his way back home? And who will he find waiting for him?" He paused to offer a delicious grin then, "And will she gladly offer him a vein?"

_Elena._ The name flashed in Damon's head and he acted before he knew what he was doing.

"Do we have a deal, Salvatore?" Klaus asked, following the younger vampire in his frantic pace to get to Bonnie's house.

_You trade me for Stefan_, she said. She hadn't mentioned the stakes would be so high. Trapped Stefan, if he didn't. Dead Elena, if he didn't. Dead Bonnie, if he didn't. Somehow the last sentence seemed to sting so much more: risk her life to kill Klaus to free Stefan, and the kid ends up dead choking on her own dreams instead.

"Salvatore," Klaus's voice called out again just before he rushed into the Bennett house.

"Deal," Damon forced the word from his throat as he stormed in.

When he delivered her body to Klaus' waiting arms, Damon struggled to keep from ripping the Original's heart out. Even worse, he struggled to keep from clutching Bonnie's form to him – unconscious, almost dead for the _second_ time due to the same douche!

Klaus closed his hands over Bonnie with a strange smile. He cradled her like something precious, making sure her head and neck was resting easily against his chest. She coughed against him – that was a good sign, right?

"_Well?_" Damon growled. "Where's Stefan?"

"Oh," Klaus said, taking a step back. "At the Boarding House. Where else?"

**KBKBKBKBKB**

Damon knocked Stefan out just as he had his hand raised to knock on the door. This time, when it swung open, Elena _would_ see Stefan – but she wouldn't be happy for it. Maybe she would be for a split second – but it wouldn't even take that long for the younger Salvatore to rip her throat out.

When Elena realized what Bonnie and Damon had done, she was inconsolable.

Sure, there were the first five minutes of utter confusion and elation where she fawned over Stefan's weak and unconscious form (while Damon kept him from attacking her arteries) – that was pretty nice. Probably a lovely reunion scene Bonnie would have deemed "worth it" – but it didn't last long enough for Damon.

Because Bonnie hadn't been answering her calls.

And Bonnie was supposed to meet her that night.

And Damon flinched everytime she said Bonnie's name.

And Stefan. Stefan had muttered (the bastard), just before he went unconscious again with another blow from Damon' elbow, that "you can't let him have her, Damon… not Bonnie."

"Where's Bonnie?" Elena had asked relentlessly, in 500 different tones and voices and with exactly 731 batted lashes, before he gave in. And told her.

"I traded her for Stefan," Damon said simply, his eyes harsh and unnerving. _Tell her that Bonnie had gone willingly? _He would save that torment for another day. _But had she?_ A nagging voice (remarkably like Emily's) was pressing at the back of his mind: had she gone willingly, or did she dive headfirst into an idiotic plan depending on the one person dumb (and rash) enough to see it through whether she wanted him to or not? _She hadn't exactly been conscious when he dropped her into Klaus's waiting arms… _

But Elena would forgive him. _Wouldn't she?_

"What's the trick?" Elena asked frantically tugging at him as he carried Stefan to the basement, her eyes welling up with tears, "What's the trick, how are we getting her back?"

"We're not," Damon said gruffly, throwing Stefan's limp body in the basement. He was surprised to find a mattress there and a stack of books. A single unlit candle lay in the corner of the room. Bonnie had been here. It almost touched his undead heart, how she had prepared the place for the prisoner whose spot she was taking. _If only Stefan had made his prison as homely_.

"What do you mean," Elena said, shifting her weight in an awkward dance, "_we're not_?" She shoved Damon now, "You _never_ do anything without something underhanded in mind! You made her do this, Damon!" Elena was yelling now, hitting him harder than she ever had before. And he let her.

"You made her do it," Elena sobbed, running her hands through her hair and trying to still her grief.

Damon turned away as she broke down into a puddle on the floor outside of the basement, only a wall separating her from Stefan.

"She's going to die," Elena started repeating, "She's going to die, she's going to die."

"She will die anyway," Damon snarled at the girl who looked so young – so _her age_, "At least her death will mean something." He racked his brain. How would Judgy put it? "She'll be saving many lives."

"But who's going to save hers?" Elena sobbed, resting her forehead against the cool brick of the basement.

"Not you," Damon growled, kicking the wall. "You stay here and save Stefan. You can't have everyone, Elena." He met her eyes sternly one more time, jaw set grimly, before turning away and storming back into the house: "You can't save us all."

"You made her do it," Elena said one more time to Damon's retreating back. He heard her. Stefan heard her. She heard herself – her own voice echoing off the walls of her mind. But everyone who heard her knew, _knew_, she wasn't talking to Damon or Stefan or anyone else: she was talking to herself.

"You made her do it," Elena said one more time as she pulled angrily at her own hair, her eyes dry and red from the crying, "You killed Bonnie."


	6. Sleeping Beauty and the Beast

**AN: Thank you for all of the reviews! Sorry updates are taking a while. I'm really busy with school =(**

**Sleeping Beauty and the Beast**

Bonnie was light in his arms as he brought her to the house where he had held Stefan. He set her on the bed and was surprised to feel a sudden coolness hit his arms: like he had grown accustomed to her warmth. Her skin was burning up, her breaths coming out choked coughs as Klaus reached for a purple blossom on the night stand.

Sitting on the bed, he pulled her back into his arms, cradling her head carefully at the neck.

"There, there," he said softly to the unconscious witch, "Poison will be out in no time."

He cradled her carefully on top of him – working at lightning speed although to him time passed slowly. To remedy the spell's effect, that which had been applied in her dreams via the purple blossom had to be applied in the waking world. But with Bonnie nuzzled so warm and carefully in his arms, her hair spilling over his arm and her nape in close proximity to his face – he was tempted to extract the poison another way. Her pulse beat so temptingly below his nose that he even paused to inhale its rhythm for a selfish moment.

_Focus._

He reached for the flower and held it over her face, titling her lips to catch its nectar. Crushing the petals, the juice clung to his fingers but refused to drip off.

"Ugh," Klaus said in frustration, shaking his hand and hoping to extract it that way. _Nothing_ moved. And now it was stuck to his skin. He frowned as Bonnie let out a weaker cough than any he had heard thus far.

_Alright_, he thought, taking a steadying breath as he raising his hand to her lips. He traced the curves with his thumb, trying to deposit the antidote with minimal invasion. She shifted in his arms, but her eyes didn't open and her skin didn't cool.

Klaus raised his hand to his own lips – the same fingers that had been brushing Bonnie's – and tasted the nectar himself. It was there. Why wasn't it working?

He was getting frantic now, watching her cough and suffocate before him. In his arms. Who knew such a powerful witch could be undone so easily? Sometimes it was easy to forget how young and naïve she really was. So _trusting_.

Licking his lips, Klaus tasted the bitter nectar and blinked rapidly in realization.

_How else to wake a sleeping beauty_, he smiled wickedly, _than with a kiss_?

And for the second time, he lightly touched her lips to his.

**KBKBKBKB**

When Bonnie awoke, she found herself laying in the arms of a sleeping man. No, _scratch that_ – vampire-wolf hybrid. She shot up and out of his heavy arms, gasping for air. Coughing, bending at the waist and instinctively clutching the sheet beside her, she didn't even realize until much afterwards the strong hands that rubbed her back or the low voice that offered soothing sounds.

The room was dark, lit only by a stream of moonlight from a large bay window with curtains drawn. The sliver of light escaped and poured in when the wind blew to kick up the curtains. The sound of the fabric rustling together was the only noise in the room besides her tortured breathing.

"It's a bit like drowning in wolf's bane," Klaus offered. She knew the voice immediately, recognized his strong profile in the moonlight even as her eyes watered uncontrollably. She swiped at her cheek, too panicked to feel the pain of her fingers bruising skin.

"_Klaus_," she scowled on a strangled breath, but it came out weaker than she intended. She gritted her teeth and tried again: "You tried to kill me."

"Guess that makes us even," Klaus said, his hands dropping away. He crossed them in front of his chest and eyed her with an almost bored expression: "_Almost._"

Bonnie raised her arms toward him, summoning the strength of her magic, and sent it directly towards him. Aneurysm after aneurysm she commanded. But he made no move to indicate the slightest degree of pain or discomfort. Instead, he smiled.

He _smiled_.

"Careful," Klaus warned teasingly, "You don't want to wear yourself out."

Bonnie dropped her hands in exhaustion and turned from him in disgust. Instead, she pulled at the sheets on the bed and pulled them up around her. "Where am I?"

"You're safe," Klaus said. "You will remain here for now."

Bonnie merely glared at him. Avoiding answering the question – probably because he thought she would take the first opportunity to leave. It irritated her how arrogant he was knowing she was the only one with the power to kill him _dead_ dead. She narrowed her eyes, wondering what exactly it was that gave him the gall to be so self assured.

"Don't be upset with me," Klaus said, raising an eyebrow up a tick as if he hadn't expected her to be trying to kill him the moment she opened her eyes. "This was your doing."

"_What_?" Bonnie growled. "You trapped me in some kind of twisted dream."

"I'm not the one who set the field on fire," Klaus reminded her, "And we were having such a lovely time."

"Who told you to set the field on fire?" Klaus frowned. "And we were having such a lovely date."

"I'm sure that was your idea of a date," Bonnie snorted.

"Flowers, secluded location…" Klaus rattled off.

"Kidnap, drugs," Bonnie frowned.

"Goodnight kiss," Klaus said with a sly smile, "Or is it a good morning kiss since it woke you up?"

Bonnie's jaw ticked in anger as she chose to ignore that last revelation: "You drugged me so I couldn't wake up."

"More poison, really," Klaus said, tilting his head as if in thought. "Don't worry, though, it'll be out of your system soon."

"You poisoned me in my dreams?" Bonnie clarified. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, feeling the sluggishness start to creep in on her again.

The curtain shifted and the moon hit his face to reveal a deep frown. "I didn't know you'd set the field on fire," he pointed out, "And trap yourself."

"Right," Bonnie spat, "Clearly my plan was to suffocate on smoke."

"Does it really matter," Klaus pronounced with boredom, "It got you what you wanted."

"And what's that?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to say something stupid and arrogant like _in bed with me_.

"Stefan free," Klaus said, blinking at her like it was obvious.

"Stefan?" Bonnie asked immediately, as if she had forgotten their deal.

"He is at the Boarding House," Klaus said and noticed her visible breath of relief. "His services are no longer required."

"To be clear, I have no intention of being his _replacement_," Bonnie spat, glaring at the hybrid. He met her gaze and didn't turn away.

"Oh, I assure you, you will be fulfilling duties Stefan would never be acceptable for," he said, patting the bed beside him where she had been lying. "With your magic, of course. But first, you need to rest to recuperate."

"Didn't know you cared," Bonnie said. He glanced down at the spot on his chest where her head had been resting and she couldn't decipher what it might mean. Regretting a missed opportunity to snap her neck? Or missing the feel of her in his arms? Bonnie shuddered – she didn't know which was worse.

"Stefan has been released," Klaus stated again, his voice suddenly more formal and even more devoid of emotion than usual, "in exchange for your loyalty."

"I said I would come willingly," Bonnie said, "I never said anything about loyalty."

Klaus's smile fell immediately and he was silent for a beat longer than she'd expected. Like he was weighing his options. "I will not compel your loyalty," he said at last.

_No, Klaus wasn't the kind to compel people to like him_, Bonnie realized. That was more Damon's style. Klaus was more the – I'll give you a choice, but if you choose the wrong one, I'll make your death an entertaining one.

"Either way," Bonnie said, speaking loudly in a display of confidence, "I said I would come and I have."

"And you won't be going anywhere." Klaus pronounced.

"Because _I_ said I wouldn't," Bonnie said, grinding her teeth together. The wind kicked up and sent a chill throughout the room. Her body felt heavy, her eye lids ready to droop, but she held her ground.

"Because you can't," Klaus said, making it clear that he didn't trust her with the way he looked at her – like he was staring at her across a poker table, waiting for her to display one of her tells.

"I can," Bonnie said, meeting his eyes.

"You are powerless." Klaus said, smiling slightly as Bonnie's eyes dropped to her hands. "Staying alive in that dream has really worn down your magic."

Bonnie reached up to feel under her nose, but there was no blood. Her exhaustion was completely internal then. Which explained why she was so tired…

"Come," Klaus said, and she saw herself falling onto the bed before she could stop it – as if she had moved on command. Klaus caught her easily, positioning her where she had been with her head on his chest. He tugged on her hair lightly, massaging her scalp with his fingers and Bonnie was too tired to move.

"What's… wrong with me…" Bonnie made a final plea, perhaps to her witchy ancestors.

But Klaus answered instead, his breath hitting her forehead and his voice getting lost in the strands of her tousled hair: "Nothing. Sleep. No harm will come to you."

"No harm…" Bonnie blinked rapidly, trying to hold on to her consciousness.

"I give you my word."

Without the chance for a second thought, Bonnie collapsed into dreamless sleep.

**KBKBKBKBKB**

When he had killed the inhabitants of the house, he hadn't thought twice about the contents of their fridge. But now that it was morning and Bonnie would be waking up at any second, he felt unfamiliar anxiety about his rusty cooking skills. Sure, he had whipped up a thing or two in his long existence. But living on the run had not exactly given him opportunity or desire to play with human habits.

Like eating.

Nonetheless, he thought he had managed to whip together a delicacy when he knocked lightly on the door to her room. She had come – willingly. The thought had sent a spiral of warmth throughout his chest all night – a night he spent in the master bedroom, as he was, of course, the _master_. The idea that she wanted to be there was… strange. Even his sister Rebecca had made a show of loyalty based on fear of his retribution and love of his spoiling her with pretty new things (like Stefan). Even as the Ripper, he had to threaten Stefan to get his loyalty.

_Now Bonnie_… that was a different story altogether. Did she fear his vengeance? No. She was willing to give up her life for the safety of her friends. Did she fear for her friends' lives? Yes, but with a caveat that no other opponent had before: power. She had the power to destroy him or to protect them from him – she just needed the time to grow into it. Which only made winning her loyalty the more tempting and delectable: when she grew into that power, if he had her loyalty, how safe he would be.

And if she chose him…

Klaus' thoughts were interrupted when the witch in question swung the door open, her eyes half closed from the harsh daylight – she was wrapped in a fluffy white robe she had probably pulled from the adjacent bathroom. As if he hadn't already seen her naked bathed in moonlight…

"Klaus," Bonnie said, leaning against the doorframe. She arched a brow at him, eyeing him with boredom.

"I've brought you breakfast," he said, immediately hating the way his voice sounded. To make up for it, he kept his lips from pulling into a smile as she tossed her long hair over a shoulder and stretched her arms, pulling her body into a beautiful, graceful curve. Like a bow's string being pulled taut, waiting for the attack.

"Don't expect me to return the favor," Bonnie said, taking the tray from his hands and retreating into the room.

She didn't close the door behind her, and he took it as an opportunity to join her.

The tray smelled like heaven. Bonnie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the aromas mingle in her lungs before exhaling with a content smile. She let out a small, happy sigh that sparked a smile on Klaus' face that she didn't see – for when she opened her eyes, he was perched on the edge of the bed, his back to her.

"Pancakes," Bonnie said, nudging the food with a fork, "Whipped cream, butter, syrup…" she lifted up a smaller bowl and made a great pretense of examining the contents, "Strawberries, bananas…" she turned to the other plate, "Toast, eggs.." her voice seemed to grow more disapproving as she went on. That didn't seem right, so he turned to glance at her as she finished: "Orange juice _and_ coffee! Who do you think I am, _Tyler?_ I can't eat all this." She shot him a disapproving frown: "You really shouldn't have. Waste not want not."

"A thank you would have sufficed," Klaus frowned.

Bonnie scooped up some of the whipped cream on a spoon, and slid it against her lip. After pausing as if to think, she said: "Thanks for breakfast, roomie."

"_Roomie_?" Klaus arched a brow at the term.

"Right." Bonnie smiled, something devious dancing in her eyes as she cut a corner of the pancake. She took a sip of the coffee and there it was again – that happy half-sigh. Klaus almost wanted to echo it as he watched her eat. "Roommates. Road trip buddies. As long as you are clear that we're not allies… that I'm not your _accomplice_, I will stay put."

"The way you speak," Klaus mused, "As if you have a choice… your confidence is…"

"Frustrating," Bonnie tried teasingly as she ate a strawberry. "Irritating. Aggravating. Motive for murder?"

"Endearing," Klaus said. There was something strangely intoxicating about watching a woman eat. Her rhythm as she mixed and mingled flavors was perfect – she didn't miss a beat, she took healthy portions and paused often to savor the tastes in her mouth. Eating to Bonnie was like a festival of tastes, scents and textures: she rarely had the chance for a decent meal these days. But when she was younger – cooking, baking, _eating_ – all her favorite activities.

Bonnie snorted. "Endearing?" she raised her hand and made several items of food levitate in the air, lining them up for her to devour. She paused to look at him with a sly smirk (that she had undoubtedly learned from Damon Salvatore, but looked so much better on her lovely lips) as if to say _magic's back, bitch_. "I suppose I'll take that over the alternatives. For now."

"Well," Klaus cleared his throat, getting up, "I should take my leave."

"Gone so soon?" Bonnie said, feigning sadness. "I mean, neither of us have tried to kill the other yet."

"I'm afraid so," Klaus said, nodding his goodbye. "Besides, you need to rest if you want to do more than wave food around."

_So your magic will be of use to me_, Klaus thought.

_If I want to kill you_, Bonnie thought.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie opened her mouth to welcome magically delivered tidbits of food in between words. When Klaus said nothing, she said: "When will you be back?"

Watching her, Klaus wondered if she did everything as carefully – if she savored every moment the same. _Like their kiss_. The thought startled the hybrid, and he turned from her. For he knew – he _knew_ – exactly how much she ruminated over her feelings. Especially her hurt feelings. How could he not know? She sent them to him – wanted him to feel them. Only, he didn't feel remorse for it.

"You're not the only one who needs to _eat_," Klaus reminded her ominously. The smile dropped from her lips.

Turning back to look at her when he reached the door, he felt a sharp thrill rush up his spine as if to confirm what he had always known. He didn't feel remorse for his actions – he felt intrigue, passion and a desire for the witch. A desire for someone to harbor feelings for him as closely. A desire for him to feel such feelings – so deep and unmoving – about something, _anything_, other than the pain and sadness he carried around.

"And don't bother trying to leave," he added, enjoying the way her jaw ticked in annoyance. "The house has been enchanted. No one leaves without my permission."

"What happened to the whole 'come willingly' bit?" Bonnie said, her eyes as sharp as daggers as they met his.

"_Come_ willingly," Klaus said, "I never said it would be as easy to leave."

But she didn't intend to leave, Bonnie thought as she heard Klaus exit the house. No, Bonnie intended this to be the last place she ever was. She would die here, and she would take the hybrid with her.


	7. Tricks of the Trade

**Tricks of the Trade**

That night, Bonnie was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the weird cat-clock on the wall, waiting for Klaus to return. She had explored the house, and a strange feeling of dread had been welling in her chest the more she poked around.

It was clear that at least three girls lived there. Their clothes were still in the closets, toothbrushes still in the bathroom. Their shoes ranged around her size, and in various styles. There were favorite books, unfinished university assignments, flashcards, and all the other markings of a young woman's life. There were tampons and condoms in the bathroom. The raspberry body wash looked like it had only been used once. The more she looked, the sadder she felt.

As she made her way downstairs in her clothes – too chilled to take a shower, too respectful to borrow clothes – she noticed nicks in the railing. The living room was filled with frames – but they were all turned down. She picked one up and perused it and saw the faces of three friends and a puppy. They were young, fresh-faced and happy. In the corner, laughing, was a girl with red hair and freckles. Loving life.

_Could've been Caroline, Elena and me_.

She left that photo standing, the eyes of the now dead girls staring at her happily. The rest she left turned down. It was odd that someone (Klaus? Stefan?) had turned them down – a sign of guilt, perhaps? At what had happened to them?

From the corner of her eye, she saw a scratch in a wall behind one of the deep yellow curtains. Pulling it aside, she saw a short scratch in the white paint. Running her fingers alone the side, she narrowed her eyes and saw a thing, hairline difference in the surface. She tried to pry it open with her fingers to no avail. She pushed against it, hoping it might push back and open – it didn't. Running her fingers against it again, she could tell it had been jammed shut- not closed easily or locked as it normally would have been.

That meant someone didn't want her getting down there.

And if that someone was Klaus, then it meant she absolutely had to.

Narrowing her eyes, she focused her magic, and the door popped open.

It was a small opening, but big enough for Bonnie to slip through. The steps were very steep, leading to a deep basement with rough floor. Her bare feet scraped unhappily on the steps and she stumbled a bit in the increased darkness. The only light on the inside seemed to come from a few small windows at the top that let in the light of the moon.

_Light_, she thought and the light was magnified, illuminating the room like it was an ordinary space outside.

Bonnie's breath caught in her throat at what she saw.

There were chains and handcuffs, leg cuffs, padlocks and more chains in the corner of the room. All along one wall were cuffs – they were low, probably to accommodate the smaller form of the transformation. All along the edges of the wall grew wolf's bane. There was no doubt.

Bonnie closed her eyes and could almost hear the pain of their transformations.

_Werewolves_.

Undoubtedly, Klaus had tried to turn them and had failed.

She walked closer to the cuffs on the wall and saw blood on the ground. It was dry and splattered everywhere. Someone had been killed here recently.

Klaus' words echoed in her head: _The Ripper_.

She traced her fingers over one of the cuffs and got a sudden jolt of memory. Stefan. Trapped, pulling against the chains. Stefan, wondering how long it would take for him to chew his own hand off and gnaw his way to freedom. Stefan, chained up like the beast he was.

Bonnie was chilled to the bone. She was part scared and sorry for Stefan, part scared and sorry for the monster she had released from Klaus' grips.

_Damon_, she thought, remembering the phone she saw upstairs: _I should check in before Klaus gets home._

She ran up the stairs out of the room, closing the door behind her. Then she turned, and cast a spell on the door.

"No one can open you but me," Bonnie said, sizing the door up. For good measure, she also reinforced its strength so no hybrid could punch his way through.

_The next person to be locked up there would not be a teenaged witch._

Bonnie made her way to the phone, dialing before the receiver touched her ear. It was dead.

She made her way to the kitchen, again startled by the ordinariness of the house: cutting boards, calendars, wind chimes. There was recycling in a blue box by the counter, like it was waiting for its owners to arrive. She picked up the phone hanging on the wall, and again – nothing. No dial tone.

She could leave, she thought, trying to stem the sudden rush of fear of being cut off from the world. But he would just find her again. And she wouldn't have accomplished her goal.

_No_, she thought firmly. The only way to save them was to do it herself. No one could finish this but her.

So she sat at the kitchen table and waited for his return.

**KBKBKBKB**

Klaus came home exhausted. Not physically, of course – he was a perfect specimen. No, he was mentally tired. _Bonnie was a trick_, he thought all day. Damon gave her up too easily. Was there more to her than the magic of a hundred witches? More threatening him that he didn't understand? There was something there, just under the surface, that he couldn't put his finger on…

He needed to use his time wisely to properly win her to his side.

By that, he wasn't too worried – for he knew her weakness, a weakness even she had not yet realized. There _was_ a reason she hadn't killed him the night of the sacrifice.

What did worry him was her brain.

She wasn't sweet and loyal like Rebecca with a soft heart for damaged goods. No, Bonnie was hard and unforgiving in her righteousness. She would never come to _care_ for him. Not that he needed her to care, it just would have made things easier. Like it had with Greta. And Bonnie wasn't like Elena. She wouldn't be bent on trying to save him from himself in a way that he could twist and deceive. Bonnie wasn't even like Caroline, the blonde vampire with a penchant for kicking ass. She was less impulsive, more studious – her plans were better thought out, and her risks were calculated.

Even her magic was nothing compared to the way the wheels turned in that pretty head of hers.

So one could imagine how surprised Klaus was when he walked into the kitchen and found a scowling Bonnie waiting for him, ready to offer the perfect opening.

"You killed them," she said, her voice as flat as she could make it – but the anger and venom was still there. She glared at Klaus as he came in, an almost disinterested scowl appearing on his face – like he had forgotten she'd be there, and was annoyed that she was. "For no reason."

"It was not my intention for them to die," Klaus reminded her. He approached slowly, his hands in his pockets. Bonnie crossed her arms in front of her chest as if to protect herself.

"You tried to turn them," Bonnie spat like an accusation. "And now they're dead. This house," she muttered, shaking her head, "Is empty because of you."

"Not because of _me_," Klaus corrected, "Because of the original witch."

"You can't turn werewolves," Bonnie rolled her eyes, wanting to add that his futile attempts caused their death not some curse – but he interrupted.

"That, my dear," Klaus said, leaning over the table to raise her chin to face his (pretty easy, since she had already tilted it in a superior façade), "is where you come in." He tapped her chin once more before sliding into the chair beside her. He clasped his hands in front of him on the table and leaned forward as if he was telling her a secret in a crowded room.

"I don't want them to die any more than you do."

"I don't want them to be hybrids either," Bonnie spat.

"Hybrids," Klaus said, "Are no less abominations than vampires or werewolves alone."

"I don't want vampires running around either," Bonnie pointed out, "Werewolves can at least be controlled."

"Even Caroline?" Klaus said and watched Bonnie wince. Apparently that transformation, however it happened, still hit a nerve. "Isn't she better a harmless vampire than a teenage corpse?"

"Caronline," Bonnie's hands tightened against her arms. "is different."

Klaus leaned back, "Ahh, the hypocrisy. Your friends deserve to live as nonhumans, but no one else should?"

"Caroline has free will," Bonnie pointed out, "You plan on using your hybrids to do your bidding."

Klaus trained his face to remain still. "Only when necessary."

"When isn't it necessary for you?" Bonnie almost laughed. "Look at how many lives you've killed "_necessarily"_ already."

"Again," Klaus said, leaning back as the muscle in his jaw ticked, "That is where you can come in. There's no reason they can't have long, normal immortal lives."

Bonne frowned, unimpressed, and Klaus continued. "They won't be slaves to the moon. They won't have to go through the pain of transformation. They can live _more_ normal lives than they do now."

"They'll be dangerous to humans," Bonnie said.

"It's not humans," Klaus said, meeting her eyes with great seriousness, "That I'm after."

"Compel them," Bonnie blurted out, and Klaus raised a brow at her. "Compel them not to feed from humans, and I will help you."

He opened his mouth to reply, and she held up a hand to silence him. They were both surprised when it worked.

"I don't want any more deaths," Bonnie said calmly, _except yours_, "So compel them not to hurt humans and they can live their happy hybrid lives."

Klaus smiled, and it chilled Bonnie to the bone. Because it wasn't a smile of pleasure or a forced grin to conclude the deal. No, it was clearly on of admiration. Like he was impressed by her scheming.

Then he tilted his head, touched her chin, and made sure their gazes met when he replied: "Once again, my witch, I give you my word."

Now all he had to do, Klaus thought, was earn her trust.

"Okay," Bonnie nodded, "Deal."

And when their gazes locked again, the determined heat in her eyes made Klaus sure of one thing and one thing only: this game of cat and mouse was going to get a lot more interesting, and for once he wasn't quite sure which one he was – the predatory cat, or the innocent mouse.

**KBKBKBKB**

Days later, Bonnie's power had yet to return to full force. The spell on the trap door had taken a lot more out of her than she thought. She guarded that corner of the room relentlessly when Klaus was home. She sat in front of it when she knew he would be arriving, curled up with a spell book or watching tv or pretending to sleep on the lemon-colored couch. Anything to keep him from the door.

When he was gone, she didn't want to know what he was doing. But if he discovered what she'd done too soon – before she got her powers back – who knew how he would retaliate.

But he never approached it.

And though she braced herself for the dead bodies and rivers of blood – for the demands and anger and schemes, they never came.

Instead, Klaus returned in the evenings and didn't bat an eye at seeing her in the same corner of the living room he'd left her in. Sometimes he would go straight to his room without seeming to notice she existed. But when she finally retired to hers, she would lean her ear against the wall they shared and hear his frustrated pacing. But his most dangerous nights were not when he was trying to poison her or seemed to be plotting the destruction of humankind.

No, Klaus's most dangerous was when he caught her off guard by taking a seat in the living room. Or even worse, when he got that playful glint in his eye, extended his hand to her, and asked her to cast a seemingly innocent spell in the delicious accent.

"I'm thirsty," Klaus had said from his seat on the living room floor three days after they had struck their compulsion deal. He didn't sit on the couches or cross his legs and brood or scheme like the Salvatores did. Although he seemed to keep one eye on the door like he was expecting an intruder, he mostly was finding ways to entertain himself.

Bonnie almost hoped he'd bore himself to death when he said it. She was lying on the couch, pretending to read Wuthering Heights and hoping he didn't notice that he pages hadn't turned. It was chilly evening and the fire was burning in the corner of the room, lighting up the angles of his face in ways that made Bonnie's mouth water. His hair was ruffled and slightly out of place. And when he turned to her with a sly smile, she had to consciously stop her heart from beating.

_He's evil_, she reminded herself. But when he turned to look at her over his shoulders, a gorgeous grin spreading across his face, she was stunned long enough to forget it. And when he stood, extending a hand, and said, "Wine?" she watched herself put her hand in his without thinking.

Klaus pulled Bonnie to her feet and walked hurriedly to the kitchen. He stood her in front of the sink and said, "Well?"

"Well?" Bonnie repeated, blinking rapidly.

"Water into wine," Klaus said simply, "I'm sure one of your hundred witches can manage that."

She smiled, a small laugh escaping at the challenge. _So you want magic tricks, huh_?

He leaned forward on the counter, and met her eyes as she said the spell. She didn't close her eyes, and it didn't hurt. She felt the power rushing through her as she concentrated on the tap.

Klaus studied Bonnie as she cast her spell. He had seen her use her magic before, knew that she was getting stronger every time he saw her. But there was something more intoxicating than wine before him. She was feeding off the power in the room – from both of them. Her chin was tilted, and her lips were pulled into that adorable smirk. When she finally smiled at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning back in challenge, he couldn't help but grin in return.

"White?" she asked, turning on the cold water and watching white wine pour out, "Or red?" She flipped the cold water off and hit the hot tap and out poured red wine.

Klaus' grin spread as he came over to her side of the sink. In one smooth motion, he pulled two wine glasses from the cupboard. "Red. Always."

Then he turned to face the sink and, seeing Bonnie still standing facing it, slid a hand on either side of her. He took a step forward and she was pressed against him. He heard her heart thunder against her chest and pressed into her more, leaning them both forward as he took his time to fill the glasses.

"Klaus," Bonnie said, intending her voice to sound more threatening than it did when he rested his chin on the nape of her neck. She turned to glance at him, but his eyes seemed deliberately trained in faux-concentration on filling the glasses. Just as the second one filled, he turned his head and nuzzled her nape.

Bonnie closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact of fangs as she felt the power rushing through her hands to defend herself, but felt the soft brush of lips instead. She heard the clink of the glasses as they were set on the counter.

"Klaus," she said again, shifting awkwardly. Even she could hear the thundering of her heart and thought how unfair that was.

"Bonnie," he replied, smiling deliciously into her skin. She turned her face away, exposing the arc of her neck to him, and she felt his hands curl into her hips in appreciation. Bonnie's breath caught as she realized he wasn't attacking her. Or tricking her.

_He wants to kiss me_, Bonnie realized. And that scared her most of all.

Bonnie spun around and shoved him off of her. He took two swift steps back, leaning on the counter, and holding a single glass of wine in his hand casually – like nothing at all had happened.

When she turned to face him, Bonnie was flushed. With anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure.

"You can't keep… doing that," Bonnie said.

No aneurysms. She couldn't be that mad, Klaus thought as he raised a glass to offer her cheers. She picked up her glass and downed it in one go.

He arched a brow at her, "Careful there."

"Stop kissing me!" Bonnie blurted. "You can't just… do that whenever you want."

"I'm not the only one who wanted it," Klaus said, and Bonnie felt a small thrill at the center of her chest when his eyes met hers.

Then she felt angry. "Don't do it again."

"Alright," Klaus said with a nod, "I won't kiss you again."

"Thank you," Bonnie said in a voice that didn't read grateful at all.

"Until you ask," Klaus said, taking a step forward. He took her glass from her and then reached behind to turn on the tap, please to still find white wine coming out. She was glaring up at him as he filled the glass and he felt the annoyance pass from her to him.

Leave it to a silly human to make a big deal about a kiss.

As if kissing someone like him was a great tragedy.

Klaus frowned at the thought, standing back to practically shove the glass of wine in her hands.

"I'm not going to ask you to kiss me," Bonnie assured him as she followed him into the living room. It felt strange to argue about it but, spurred on by the wine and the indignation and – let's face it – the loneliness of being trapped in the house, she couldn't help herself.

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Klaus said. He moved towards the couch, but Bonnie moved faster, making sure she sat closest to the trap door. Klaus raised an eyebrow at her, but she just sipped her wine and forced herself to continue.

"Why are you so eager to kiss me anyway?" Bonnie said, "You're not the love type."

Klaus frowned, taking another sip of his wine. "What type am I?"

"The kill 'em and leave 'em type," Bonnie said, gesturing around the room to the overturned frames.

Klaus said nothing, but tilted his head and smiled as if to say _go on_.

"You killed your family, who you should love above all else," Bonnie said, "And you kept Stefan from Elena. You don't care about anyone."

Klaus frowned.

"But yourself," Bonnie finished.

"Thank you for that entirely novel psychiatric assessment," Klaus said with a tight smile.

Bonnie mentally hit herself. Keep the psycho murderer happy, she thought. If she had learned anything from Damon it was that. They kill when they're pissed.

"Your turn," she said, raising her glass to him.

Klaus raised a brow, like he hadn't heard her.

"Tell me," Bonnie said, "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," Klaus said quickly, and with force that startled her.

"Nothing?" Bonnie said lightly, scrunching up her nose and shaking her head. "I know many who would disagree."

"You're perfect," Klaus said, taking a seat beside her. He didn't meet her eyes. "Why else would I come for you?" _And let you live_.

"Because I have the power of a hundred witches," Bonnie deadpanned, waving her wineglass in the air. Her eyes seemed unimpressed. Almost resigned. _Like she was used to being used._

Klaus waited until she turned to face him before he spoke. "There's a lot more to you than magic."

Bonnie let out an unimpressed laugh, "Yeah, okay."

"I admit," Klaus shifted awkwardly, "You got my attention with that spell."

"When I tried to kill you?" Bonnie said pleasantly, a teasing smile on her lips.

"No," Klaus almost smiled at her, "When you tried to make me regret."

"It didn't work quite as I thought," she said.

"Better than you could have ever imagined," Klaus said under his breath.

"Hmmm?" Bonnie said.

"I said, it got my attention but it didn't keep it," Klaus lied. "There is something about you that is more enchanting than your magic."

"What's that?" Bonnie said, her voice teasing but her eyes seemed anxious for his answer.

"Your kindness," Klaus admitted. "You are more _good_ than anyone I have ever known." He shook his head with a smirk, "And I have known a lot of good."

"I'm not," Bonnie said, putting her glass down.

"You call things as you see them. You think there's something precious about humanity, but you're not trying to save us twisted, evil devils. You're just trying to protect the little people," Bonnie snorted at that, "Lover of the Byronic hero you are not." He glanced the Wuthering Heights book she had abandoned, and she mentally kicked herself: he knew she wasn't interested in it.

"I admit," Bonnie said grudgingly, "I may be nicer than most of your accomplices." Then she met his eyes with a wicked glint, "But you _do_ hang out with psychos and murderers,"

"And rippers," Klaus nodded in agreement. Their eyes met, and there was laughter sparking between them. Bonnie broke eye contact first, turning away to look at her hands in her lap. Klaus leaned closer, putting an arm over her and he felt Bonnie stiffen at the contact.

She opened her mouth as if she was going to speak but had lost her words. Thinking better of it, she licked her lips – feeling more awkward when she saw his eyes drift to her mouth with renewed purpose.

"I find myself drawn to you," Klaus said softly, his hot breath brushing her ear and making her shiver. She closed her eyes against the sensation, and felt the pad of his thumb brush against her relaxed lips. She should pull away, she thought: wine and lust and magic and power was coursing through her. Everything with Klaus was confusing: playful and dangerous, wicked and sexy, deviant and immoral all at once – she never knew which face he would show next.

"I don't know what it is," Klaus said softly again, and she was sure goose bumps were appearing on her neck. She dug her fingers into the fabric of the couch. Her lips were burning where his fingers touched, and when his breath fanned against her face, she almost turned to him with her eyes half closed and invite a kiss. _Almost._

"It's the challenge," Bonnie said, reaching up to move his hands from around her. She stood up and took her wine with her. "You want to break me like you broke Stefan."

"I fixed Stefan," Klaus corrected. "That is his natural state."

"And being good and kind," Bonnie insisted, "is mine. You can't change that."

_I don't want to change it_, Klaus almost barked. _I want it. For me. Only me._

His eyes pierced hers but he didn't say anything. It was like he was trying to tell her something from the way he looked at her – devouring her with his eyes. She turned and headed for her room.

"Tomorrow," Klaus said, "We begin practicing."

"Practicing?" Bonnie asked, forcing herself not to glance at the boarded up basement. If he tried to put werewolves in there, he would know what she had done.

"We have two weeks until the full moon," Klaus said, "Let's try to get it right before then, shall we?"

_Two weeks_, Bonnie thought. _Two weeks to trap Klaus in his own dungeon_.

"Alright." Bonnie said, infusing her voice with confidence as she glanced at him behind her shoulder. "The sooner this ends the better."

_Two weeks_, Klaus thought as she walked away. Once she had made his hybrids possible, he wouldn't need her company anyway. But also winning her affection was too tempting to resist.

Klaus let the last of the wine slide down his throat as he watched her hurry up the stairs.

_Challenge accepted._


	8. Toil and Trouble

**AN: First, I have to say thank you for your patience. Thank you for your reviews, favorites and alerts. Sorry I didn't have an AN in the last chapter. I was planning to put this one up right afterwards with an AN but I got serious writer's block… and as the show started up again, it's kind of changed the plot I had in mind. So, I'm going to try to take it from here and keep it relevant and entertaining. Reviews are appreciated :) Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy and that it is worth the wait!**

**To be clear, in this story, Klaus knows Elena is alive but he doesn't know her connection to making hybrids.**

_**Toil and Trouble**_

Bonnie frowned as she looked at the notebook that had quickly become her very own, Bonnie Bennett grimoire. She'd scribbled bits and pieces of spells Klaus had researched for her (or compelled out of someone.. or blackmailed.. or killed) into it, as well as a few she remembered from the days she had spent in the Salvatore library. In the back of her mind, hundreds of witches echoed and clamoured to speak above each other and make their opinion known – except when Klaus was around. Then, they were frostily silent.

But she could source them: she could close her eyes and browse her consciousness like she was flipping pages in a book until she found the key she needed. If she knew where to begin, she could discover practically any spell the witches had ever known. And the longer she was with Klaus, the more spells she knew to look for.

His first real request was for a potion to seal boundaries.

"Like what you did for the tomb," Klaus explained one day from her bedroom door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed in front of him. He was wearing a long sleeved grey shirt that curved happily around his arms.

"You can't lock me in here," Bonnie had replied groggily, forcing herself to sit up with a pained expression on her face. The sun was streaming in from the window and she took a minute to get used to the brightness. One eye closed, one slit open, an unhappy grimace on her lips and a palm to her forehead. The ponytail she tied her hair in had come apart, and was a sloppy mess of frizz and hairband to her left.

"It's not for you," Klaus said. "I have no need to trap you." A deliberate pause. "Do I?"

He had to bite back a smile at the helpless witch, all tousled and sleepy with her barriers down before him. _Tread softly_, he thought. She _could_ still escape, and he couldn't let that happen – not until he got _something_ out of it.

"I could still escape," Bonnie voiced his thoughts, blinking at him.

"Just make it," Klaus said, pushing off of the door railing. "Something I can sprinkle at a barrier to keep the supernatural from coming in or getting out without my permission."

Bonnie's eyes shot open and her lips parted, as if a thought were eager to escape. But she composed herself very quickly – a human, maybe even a Salvatore, would not have noticed. But Klaus did.

Her speech did not betray her inner thoughts: "I don't know any spells like that."

"Figure it out," Klaus said after a long moment, waiting for her true scheme to come to the surface. But she didn't flinch or fidget. _Secrets_, he thought. "You have 'til tonight."

So she did. She knew how to spell ashes – had done it to immobilize Katherine. And she knew how to lock people in rooms – she had done it to trap Katherine the night of the party, and to keep Alaric safe the night of the sacrifice. Child's play. The problem was combining the two.

It only took five straight hours, two nose bleeds, three witchy consultations with the voices in her head – who, by the way, kept asking the same annoying question that had popped into her head when Klaus mentioned the potion – and a bottomless cup of coffee, but she had it.

Then it took another two hours to decide what to do with it.

The witches warred in her head, debating all the possible ends to handing it over or not. _Give it to him and gain his trust_, some said. _It's easy to unspell_, they said. _Don't help him kill_, others argued. _You don't know what he's using it for_, another cautioned. _The trapdoor_, said the most convincing. _The trap door_.

She had been hovering around it when Klaus was around. He must know about it. Yet he did nothing to approach it or question her presence near it. Maybe he was waiting until it was strong enough to hold her.

_Or to hold wolves._

_Do you really want hybrids in the house?_

_Compel them not to hurt humans. He didn't compel them not to feed on witches._

Bonnie shuddered. The voices warred, rushing over each other. It was so chaotic, she closed her eyes against it. Everytime she made a decision, another voice popped up to persuade her another way. Her heart was thudding in irritation, and no matter how much she rubbed her temple, the headache wouldn't subside.

And then suddenly – it was gone. It was silent. She could hear the clock ticking on the wall.

When she opened her eyes, she knew why.

"Klaus," Bonnie greeted the hybrid with a steady glare as he picked up a vial of clear liquid.

"Discrete," he said, holding up old perfume bottle to inspect the contents. Wait, did he… he almost _smiled_. Bonnie blinked. She must be seeing things.

"I try," she said.

"Will it work?" Klaus said, turning his eyes on hers. His face was drawn and serious: his eyes were scanning her face for any sign of betrayal, his lips were full and pursed like he was waiting any second to respond to a vicious, cutting remark.

So, Bonnie said simply: "Yes."

"It better," Klaus said, tossing it up, catching it and sliding it into his pocket as he turned around. "If not, you're going to have _a lot_ of funerals to attend."

"I thought you were through with the threats." Bonnie called after his back.

"Not a threat," he said matter of fact-ly as he left the room. "A consequence of failure."

**KB**

The second thing he requested took four days to deliver.

She was surprised when he asked for it, and spent half her time distracted from searching for the spell as she tried to figure what exactly he was getting at. He wanted her to make hybrids, she thought. But these enchantments were almost harmless in their ordinariness. _Couldn't any talented witch make this? _Bonnie frowned. Sure, she wouldn't have the assistance of a hundred witches, but she also wouldn't have them arguing every time she closed her eyes when Klaus wasn't near.

Because what Klaus wanted was an enchanted necklace.

Kind of like the ring she had made for Caroline, except with a different enchantment this time. He wanted a necklace that protected against compulsion in a way that vervaine could not.

"If I really wanted to compel your little vervaine-junkie friends," he had pointed out after he made the request, pinning her with his eyes, "I could."

"My friends, maybe," Bonnie frowned. "But witches can't be compelled."

A small smile, pulling at the corner of his lips. "I have compelled my fair share of witches before."

"You have not," Bonnie said, staring him down, calling his bluff.

As he paused to consider how he should respond, Klaus observed the witch. She was seated cross legged in the kitchen, the pyjamas of a dead girl hanging from her hips. She had given in and began borrowing clothes from their closets. A shirt of someone taller than her hung off one shoulder, exposing the curve of her shoulder and a glimpse of sharp collarbone. Her hair was in a ponytail behind her head, leaving her neck enticingly exposed. The hum of her pulse was a magic of its own.

"It's not the kind of compulsion you're used to," He said, surprisingly both of them with his honesty, "It's a more drawn out process of subtle suggestions." She opened her mouth to respond as he brows furrowed, but he interrupted before her voice could escape: "I haven't done it to you."

The name was unspoken between them. _Greta_. He had planted the seed and let it grow until she was torn from her family, from her life.

"But you're saying you could?" Bonnie said, her face slowly relaxing as she tried to put on a façade of calm. The thudding of her angry heart betrayed her.

"I'm a very determined man, Bonnie," Klaus said, "If I want something bad enough, I can make it happen."

"Why not just charm people into submission?" She snapped, "You seem to think yourself very talented in that department."

"I'm not the only one," He said as quickly before he turned on his heel and was gone.

She didn't see him the week after that. She would have thought he disappeared entirely, except for how the witches silenced when he approached. After a day of searching their minds for a spell they refused to give – why they were so stubborn, she didn't know – she would collapse exhausted onto the couch. But she would wake in the morning strangely refreshed. Her sleep was without dreams and arguments. Klaus had obviously been home while she slept, and left before she woke.

One night, the witches had fought her with particular venom that she felt physically exhausted. After trying all day to get them to talk about something other than the strange conspiracy of _what did Klaus _really _want, _Bonnie had to struggle to climb the stairs. She discarded her clothes without thinking, her attention turned solely to the voices in her head.

_Why would he want a necklace to protect someone from compulsion, _one asked.

_It's a weapon_, another concluded.

_It's a trick_, a third said, _such a spell doesn't exist._

_To make her trust him?_ The first asked.

_It's a weapon_, the second insisted. _He will give it to someone who must be compelled to be defeated_.

_Someone like that_, the third said, _could not be compelled by anyone but an original_.

_He wouldn't give someone power over him, _the first paused.

_It's a trick_, the third repeated, _to distract her._

_It's a gesture_, Bonnie offered at last as the hot water hit her skin. Her body wanted to relax, but the voices swirling in her head forced her to remain tense. Her whole face hurt from alternating grimaces and confused and pensive expressions all week.

_She wouldn't help him_, a new voice said meekly.

_She has her own interests_, a fifth voice said with a sharp, angry edge that made Bonnie shudder. _She will do what she must to live_.

_And we will do what we must to protect our kind_, the first said calmly, _from abominations of nature._

_She is doing the opposite of that_, the fifth voice was louder this time, _she seeks to create hybrids._

_No!_ Bonnie interrupted, but a swarm of voices covered hers. _I seek to destroy him!_

_A creature that can never be compelled… it would take great power to make that kind of protection_, the first voice concluded.

_The power of a hundred witches_, the second said again_. It will require constant power_.

_Constant vigilance._

_She will be distracted_, the third argued again, _from killing him. Expending her power uselessly to protect a monster from compulsion._

_It's a weapon._

_A trick._

_Who is it for? What sort of monster or beast can only be stopped through compulsion?_

A collective gasp, and then silence.

The witches were quiet with contemplation. Their shields were down. _This is it_, Bonnie realized, keeping her mind deliberately blank.

And then there it was: shining and glorious. The witches' defenses down, Bonnie grabbed at it. The spell she needed. She clutched it in her mental hands, memorizing the words even as the witches roared up to grab it back – to keep it from Klaus.

But they were too late. She had it. She had it!

Bonnie collapsed in the shower.

**KB**

When she woke, she found herself on the couch in the living room. She blinked her eyes open slowly, taking in the sound of rain outside the house. It was torrential – wind whipped up and battered the windows with water. She shivered, instinctively pulling her arms closer to her body. She found herself wrapped in an oversized grey Henley, the edges of the shirt brushing her thighs. She clenched them together instinctively, realizing she wasn't wearing any underwear.

"There's a storm outside," Bonnie turned to the sound of Klaus' voice across the room and felt her snarky comment die in her throat. "Power's out."

He kneed in front of the fire place, piling wood up. Topless. She could make out his back – all sharp angles and fluid movement – even in the darkness and it stunned her with its simple, stark beauty. He shook his head, and drops of water flew across the room from his damp hair. His black jacket was discarded in one corner of the room not far from his boots. He had walked through the rain.

"I can see that," Bonnie said, crossing her arms in front of her chest and realizing she was also sans bra. Great.

"How's your head?" He asked without looking at her as he stood and dusted his hands on his jeans. He reached for matches on the mantle.

"Fine," Bonnie said, glancing at the fire place and setting it ablaze in the space of a breath.

If he was startled he hid it well. He went back to his haunches, staring into the flames for a moment. The lights flickered, lighting up the angles of his face. Bonnie opened her mind to speak, but found herself suddenly mesmerized by the sharp line of his jaw. He was clenching his teeth, she realized.

He turned to her. "What happened?"

"I slipped." Bonnie said, her cheeks threatening to burn with a blush. She tried to keep her eyes from perusing what was before her, but it was so, _so_ difficult. He looked a gorgeous bronze, lit up in the darkness by the flickering flames. Broad shoulders, sculpted torso, jeans slung so low she had to bite her lip to keep from babbling in embarrassment.

It only got worse when she realized he was look at her in the same way. With that look in his eyes, so directed and purposeful.

Their gazes met.

_Hungry eyes_, she thought. Then he licked his lips and strode towards her.

"Try again," Klaus said, coming to stand in front of her. She felt suddenly small with him towering over her. She was about to shuffle to her feet when he took a seat beside her, leaning forward as if they were in a crowded room. As if he could only hear her if his face was _thisclose_ to her. Except they were alone, and the only other sounds were the torrential rain and the flickering fire.

"I fell," Bonnie said, breaking the eye contact. "You should know. I can only assume you picked me up and gave me your shirt."

"I rescued you, yes," Klaus said with a teasing play at seriousness. He rested one arm on the back of the sofa, and she deliberately ignored his attempt to get closer.

He reached out to brush a strand of her hair free from her face and she flinched.

"You could have done better than just a small shirt," Bonnie said, tugging at the hem. She shifted so her legs were tucked under her. As she moved, he reached out lazily to catch a tendril of her hair between his fingers. She stiffened, but he tugged it lightly and had her muttering an hitting his hand away.

When she met his eyes again, they were sparkling mischievously. "It was an emergency," he said, his eyes skimming over her body again, "I know how uptight you humans are about nudity."

Bonnie didn't feel that uptight about it now. As she averted her eyes from his, she found them drifting often to the hybrid body before her. There was something so hypnotic about it. She was just starved for touch, she rationalized. Being trapped along with Klaus for over two weeks was a lot for anyone to handle, let alone someone like Bonnie who relished her friends' companionship.

But when she glanced up at his face again, she knew that wasn't it. Couldn't be it. Couldn't be all there was. Because there he was, focused intently on the strand of damp hair wrapped in his fingers, running his fingers over it, seemingly oblivious to the way she was checking out him out only seconds before.

"What happened?" he tried again, his voice soft now. He tugged on her hair again, and she shifted slightly to avoid the hurt. She found herself leaning towards him, accidentally suddenly in reach of those caressing fingers. They fell to her face, tracing light circles that seemed to light up with sparks everywhere he touched.

"I was doing as you asked," Bonnie said, her voice tinged with accusation. "Finding the spell."

"The witches," Klaus said with a knowing grimace, "They don't want you helping me."

"Shocking," Bonnie said, "I know."

"Did you find it?" His eyes shot to hers now, his grip increasing slightly on her jaw. She had the feeling that if she moved to turn away, he would find a way to make her look at him. She raised her hand to the one cradling her chin and brushed his bare arm with her fingers. He blinked, the trance breaking slightly.

"Maybe," she said, her throat feeling suddenly dry as he leaned into her touch. She continued to stroke his arm, not knowing what else to do. "What do you want it for?"

"What does anyone want protection from compulsion for?" Klaus frowned at her.

"What's your end game, hybrid?" Bonnie tried again, her voice deliberately frosty.

His response was a small smile that tugged the corner of his lips.

_Well_, Bonnie thought, accepting the challenge, _you're not the only one with secrets_. The boundary potion wasn't the only thing she had come up with that week. She had saved some of that enchanted water, been keeping it in a small vial in her jeans pocket. As soon as she had something of his, she would bind it to him – make it work only on him – make him immobile like she had done to Katherine with the ashes. It didn't have to work for long, just long enough for her to get him into that basement dungeon and chain him up.

Which meant, of course, it had to be ingested after she finished spelling it.

Which wouldn't be a problem, Bonnie almost smirked, since he seemed to like running his lips over her.

"Seeing as how I rescued you tonight," Klaus said, snapping her from her thoughts, "Perhaps you can stop plotting my death for one evening."

"Teach me how I should forget to think," Bonnie said.

"Your wish," Klaus said, his eyes dipping to her lips, "is my command."

"You're incorrigible," Bonnie said, but even then he felt the brush of her gaze falling to his exposed chest. He moved forward at vamp speed, pleased with her gasp as his stubbly cheek brushed her smooth one.

"You're beautiful," he said, his voice hot against her ear. She shivered and clenched her jaw to keep from making any approving sounds. She felt him smile into her skin. "Especially," he planted a chaste kiss to her pulse, "when" another kiss, this time higher, near her jaw, "you're covered," another kiss, just under her ear that elicited another shiver, "in my scent." He nipped at her ear lobe then, pulling it between his teeth and sucking lightly on her skin.

Bonnie shivered, closing her eyes tightly and forcing her voice to silence at the sensations that were ricocheting through her. They bounced around her body, threatening to spill out of her pores. His hand clenched on her hip, encouraging her to shift forward. Without thinking, she gave in.

And suddenly, his mouth was on her neck. He lay open kisses all around it, and soon she couldn't help the sigh that escaped her through. His hand wasn't resting on her hip anymore. It was running up and down between her hip and waist and moving higher with each stroke.

Alarm bells went off in Bonnie's head, and she moved to break the contact, but found herself suddenly face to face with her seducer. Instinctively, she raised her hands – that she hadn't realized were clenching his arms – to bush him off. But then he smiled, and the warmth that was spiralling through her body seemed to explode in her heart. Her defenses were down. And he pounced.

Klaus's kiss was as hypnotic as it had ever been. The hybrid could make her weak in the knees, she admitted it. She was so overcome in sensation that she couldn't even hear the soft whimpers that escaped her lips between kisses, as if she was mourning the loss of his mouth. The rushing of her blood in her head was dizzying. She didn't even realize when his hands finally venture above her waist, one large palm smoothing over her breast, until the overwhelming heat of him was on her.

Klaus growled into the kiss, pulling her tightly against his body at last. He had waited for this. For weeks it felt, he had waited for the opportunity to touch her again. This overwhelming lust – he hadn't felt this way in centuries. And the words that spilled from that mouth, the clever, snarky things she did and said, the heart that she poured into everything – well, quite frankly, the little witch was captivating. He had told himself to stay away, to refrain – not to scare her, or push her. He needed her for the spell but he had, weeks ago, admitted – he _wanted_ her for something far more selfish.

And right now, leaning into his touch, moaning into his kiss, the heat of her a temptation too great to resist, Klaus decided to indulge.

He smiled into their kiss when she didn't resist and suddenly, Bonnie Bennett was on his lap. The little witch was intoxicating. She was soft curves all over, and her little movements – the way she shuddered, the way she tilted her head to give him better access to her neck, the way her fingers flexed into his muscles as if she was afraid to let him go – were _too_ good.

He shifted again, and she was flush against him. His back to the couch, his hands fell to her hips to settle her flatly against him. He felt the instant she hesitated, her body freezing. He didn't want her to leave, was sure he could coax her to go further, but he didn't want to force her. _You will come willingly_, he had told her, and he meant it even now.

"Bonnie," Klaus began, nipping at her lip. He raised his eyes to hers, and was overcome with a strange almost crushing sensation again, when he saw her expression. Her lips were parted and pink, her eyes hooded, her cheeks flushed. "Stay," he said, his voice strained.

"Klaus," Bonnie said quietly. She shifted to get off of him. He let her go. She stood on shakey legs. The hum of her body began to settle, but looking at him – his hair ruffled, his eyes intense with desire, his legs sprawled and arms open as if waiting for her to take her place in his embrace again – was too much. She took a step back. "We shouldn't do this." She sounded ashamed. It irritated him.

"You were enjoying it," he barked at her, an accusation if she ever heard one.

She drew her legs together, crossing her arms in front of her. "Don't kid yourself."

"I can smell you," he said.

"You can smell yourself," Bonnie retorted, tugging at the shirt for emphasis. "How narcissistic can you get?"

Klaus frowned. It wasn't his own scent that had driven him to kiss her. It was the idea, he wanted to say, that she was _his_. Didn't she know that?

"In any case," Bonnie said loudly in the silence of his non-answer, "I have your spell."

"Do you?" Klaus said, his eyes still burning into her. Finally, he sat up and crossed his arms, crossed his legs – made it very clear she was not returning to his embrace tonight.

"Yes," she said confidently, "Now just give me the necklace, and it shall be done."

He surprised her by standing up suddenly and stalked over to his jacket. He walked passed her and, though they didn't touch, she felt the spark of electricity in the air. He pulled something out of the jacket pocket and held his closed fist up before her.

His eyes were daring as they met hers. She jutted up her chin, refusing to be distracted.

When he opened his fist, the chain fell down. It hung from his fingers on a thin silver chain, and on the end was a pendent of the crescent moon. It sparkled in the firelight.

"What's this?" Bonnie asked, reaching up to take it from him. He let it fall into her open palm.

"Cast the spell," Klaus said, a strange knowing look in his eyes. "Now."

Bonnie walked silently to the center of the room, the necklace clutched in her palms. She sat before the fire and focused entirely on bringing that shining, precious spell to the forefront of her mind. With her eyes closed, she didn't notice Klaus come to stand before her.

Bonnie's lips were moving so quickly, he could barely make out the words. They seemed to flow from her without any effort at all. Like everything else about her, he couldn't pull himself away if he wanted to. The fire burned brighter and hotter in the fireplace behind him. The rain stopped suddenly outside – as if the heat of the spell had dried all the water up before it had a chance to hit the ground. He could _feel_ the power emanating off of her: it almost engulfed him in its cool flame as it flowed from her in pulses. A witch as strong as this, he had never come across before. Nor one was beautiful. Or pig-headed.

"It is done." She said suddenly. And with her voice returned the rain, and calmed the fire. She held the pendant up before her, studying it with her eyes before returning it to him.

"You are sure it will work?" Klaus asked, accepting it from her. He turned it in his hands himself, and saw no marked changes. It felt as heavy in his hands as it had for the past couple centuries.

"Positive." Bonnie said, remembering the witches' confused words from earlier. What sort of weapon was she arming him with?

He smiled at her then. A genuine smile. Unfortunately for Bonnie's weak defenses – it was stunning. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.

Well, licked her.

Right above her lips, on her cupid's bow.

"Blood," he explained, "Nose bleed."

"How did you know of this spell?" Bonnie asked, stepping back from him and rubbing her face with the back of her palm. All the blood was gone.

"Rebekah." Klaus said, turning the pendant in his hand. "She had something similar done to a ring once." He met Bonnie's eyes with a wry smile before she could ask the question – "For Stefan. To show that he could trust her."

"Stefan never told me of it." Bonnie said, skeptical.

"She never had the chance to give him the ring," Klaus said, meeting her eyes meaningfully. "And now, it seems, there would be little point."

"It would have protected him," Bonnie frowned, "From your compulsion."

"No," Klaus corrected, "Only from hers."

"It would be stronger if it belonged to the creature who was attempting the compulsion," Bonnie concluded with a nod.

"This one does." Klaus said. He had a wicked glint in his eye when he said: "For my favorite witch."

"What?" Bonnie said, but he was behind her in an instant. She tried to turn, but he stopped her with a firm hand at her nape. He couldn't help himself from stroking her skin with his thumb in an almost absent-minded fashion. But Bonnie knew better than that as she tried to stem the warm sensations from flooding her body again – everything Klaus did was deliberate.

"Now you will know," he said, taking his sweet time to sweep her hair over one shoulder. He lowered the necklace around her neck and Bonnie had the sudden impression that he was tightening a noose. "I will never impose on your free will."

Klaus brushed her hair aside before he closed the clasp. Then he sealed the gift with a soft kiss to the inside of her nape.

"What are you saying?" Bonnie said, as she heard the clasp close and the cold pendant settled happily against her skin. Almost instantly, she felt the walls go up: she was being protected from the strong supernatural forces that sought to control her.

"Isn't it obvious," Klaus said, his breath fanning against her neck again. She could feel the heat of his body from his mere proximity, even though he made a deliberate effort not to touch her. "The necklace is mine."

_The voices_, she realized, _they couldn't control her now_. They could only answer her questions. They couldn't impose their will on her own. Couldn't make her black out in the shower.

"You can't compel me," Bonnie said, turning to face him.

"You can trust me," Klaus said, something strange in her eyes that she had never seen before. Like he was holding his breath, gauging her response.

Stunned, all she said was: "Thank you."

And then there it was: that genuine smile that always took her breath away. _Be careful, Bonnie_, she told herself even as her words caught in her throat, _he owes you protection from compulsion – he is not giving you anything more than what you deserve out of respect_.

And yet still, as she reached up to trace her fingers over the crescent moon, she was touched.

"You can repay me," Klaus said, snapping her back to the moment, "With a kiss."

Bonnie was suddenly aware of the incredibly attractive half-naked man before her, and had to clench her fists together to keep from moving. _He's trying to make me trust him_, she warned herself, _he's trying to turn me into the greatest weapon of all_.

He reached his hand up to brush her cheek and she clenched her teeth to keep from leaning into his touch. Then she leaned forward and caught his lip between her teeth. His hands gripped on her hips, trying to pull her forward as she bit down and caught his blood on her tongue, on her lips. She reached up and rubbed her lips clean with a finger before stepping back.

"There," she said, stepping away, "Now we're even."

Then she went up to her room in the cold darkness, leaving the most dangerous, deviant, handsome, enthralling man she had ever met alone by the fire.

**KB**

Klaus followed her to her room as he did every night. He stood outside the door for a moment, intending to listen until her heart calmed into the even beats of sleep.

When the witch was alone, her pulse sped up. And when he arrived, it calmed and a strange relief swept over her face. Sometimes he thought she waited anxiously for him to arrive – he heard her pacing before he opened the door – but she never wanted to talk to him. She just wanted to hover in his presence, in exquisite silence. At first, he found it intriguing that she would calm instead of freak out in his presence. After two days, it was annoying: she was clearly using his presence for something. At the end of the first week, he didn't care to discover what it was that troubled her when he was gone. She was happy when he was near – she was soothed by his presence – and that was enough to satisfy his ego in the absence of kisses.

She needed him to be calm, to find peace, to fall into dreamless sleep. So he gave her this small pleasure in secret – stood by, waited until she slept calmly before making his way to his own increasingly cold and lonely bed.

Business had kept him away from the house. Tending to the coffins. Checking on the key ingredients to his upcoming plans. Making sure Elena and the gang were not out searching for the witch. One night he had seen Damon stumbling home, the carefree devil-may-care attitude gone from his aura. Something was weighing on the vamp. But when their eyes met, they shared a grim nod of recognition, and went on their way. Whatever had Damon occupied, he knew he could not go back on their deal or try to save the witch just yet.

_Trying to lull me into a false sense of security, Salvatore?_ Klaus had thought with an almost pleased smile. Their biggest weapon was under his roof. Sometimes in his arms, sometimes under his hands, his lips, his tongue. He didn't fear them.

So, the idea that his presence soothed her worked wonderfully well for Klaus. He would have his hybrids, and he would have his witch too. In every way he wanted to. When the Mystic Falls justice league came after him, he would be done with her, and he would hand her over happily.

_And she would be happy to go_, an annoying taunting voice that was eerily close to Rebekah's taunted in his head. It chilled him. The thought that she would run happily from the house, into the arms of her friends. Or worse, a Salvatore.

So, he had spared a few drops of the boundary potion to seal her in. She couldn't leave without his permission. For which she would have to ask. No, beg. And barter. And plead in ways only those pretty pink lips and that soft, soft skin could.

He braced his hand on the door, leaning his head on it in defeat as he listened to her thudding heart.

Not that she would offer her feminine charms often. She turned from his embrace. She denied them both what her body obviously wanted. He didn't know why she turned away when he had never done anything to force her. But he did know that when she did finally submit, when she gave in and let him lose himself in her smooth brown skin, and her luscious curves, when she begged for the feeling of his hands on her hips – she would do so willingly. She would _know_ – in his fantasies, he made her admit it on the height of her moans – that she chose him, desired him, came to him, came _for_ him and him alone.

"It's not enough to be loved," Klaus scowled. He had been loved plenty. By Rebecca, with her selfish ways. By his mother, who had betrayed his father and ultimately rejected her own son and cast him into the ultimate loneliness. By Greta, who was so enthralled by his power and charisma that she let herself become compelled – she couldn't think for herself.

_To be loved by someone good_, Klaus thought, _willingly and without condition_. To be loved like that, he had always thought an impossibility.

He let his hand slide down the door, slid it easily into a pocket. Her heart was taking long to quiet now. Perhaps because of their activities earlier, he thought. He could still smell her arousal – did she think she could hid it behind that scrap of fabric? He remembered the sensation of her on his lap, legs open and inviting, body moving in tiny motions towards his. There was heat between them, but he wanted friction too. He was a pair of jeans away from feeling his skin against hers in the most delicious of places.

_One more week_, he thought. One more week until the full moon, and then things would most certainly change. Bonnie would have accomplished her goal (at pain of her friends' deaths) to either make some hybrids or kill him. Should it be the former (as, let's face it, it would probably not be the latter – especially when she was expending her energies on his requests), she would then either be returning to her friends' sides in Mystic Falls or dead... either way, he would have no need for her when her task was complete... _would he?_

Licking his lips, Klaus stemmed the words that threatened to leak from his lips. He dared not call her name, dared not seek her attention again. He clenched and unclenched his jaw and schooled his expression into stillness. Only then, when he was certain that no movement of his could betray his moment of sentimentality, did he turn on his heel and leave.

**KB**

_It's not enough to be loved_.

Klaus' words rang in her ears all night. And sent the witches into a frenzy of deciphering what his true intentions were.

_Did he think she hadn't heard him_? Bonnie frowned. Sure, she didn't have vampire strength hearing, but she had a hundred witches in her brain with a hundred pairs of magical ears ready to pick up on the slightest noise.

_Usually we wouldn't tell you_, she thought she heard one of the witches sneer. _But it's…_

"Klaus." Bonnie finished for her, and they all silenced quickly with the whooshing swallowing of a gasp.


	9. Double Double

**AN: Thank you everyone for your reviews, alerts and favorites and (as usual) your patience! I spent all day on this chapter when I should have been working on my paper XD Hope you enjoy!**

**For SanjaTanja – here you go, girls!**

_**9 – Double Double**_

The answer came to her in a dream.

Bonnie was walking through the dream world she had met Klaus in. She had been there for ages, it seemed, heading towards that distant horizon and never quite making it. There was a tall tree in the distance, but no matter how much she walked, she couldn't reach it. The grass had grown taller as the longer she spent – it was past to her knees, all soft yellow-greens tickling her palms when the answer appeared in a laugh over her shoulder.

Bonnie spun around, her brows furrowed.

Klaus, she had expected. Damon, maybe, but not...

"Elena?"

Elena smiled at her but said nothing. She reached up to twist a strand of her long, lank black hair in her fingers. There was a crown of daisies in her hair, but as she shook her head, none fell off or shifted from their perch.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here," the girl replied in Elena's voice, "What are you doing here? Child of Ayanna?"

"Ayanna?" Bonnie's brow furrowed and then relaxed. "Ar-are you...?"

The wind kicked up before she could finish her sentence, and the daises started to fall from the girl's hair. The sky darkened quickly after that, and soon white petals were littering the ground like rain. The slid roughly across Bonnie's face like dry, cracking hands. She glanced up in time to see what little light remained swallowed up in a gasp of black clouds.

When she glanced back at the girl, she was gone.

_The doppelganger_, a voice came to her from behind. Bonnie spun around, knees bent, ready to face the threat but there was no one there. She squinted in the darkness.

Another voice, to her right: _Elena Gilbert._

"Who's there?" Bonnie asked, her voice sounding stronger than she felt. Her heart hammered in her chest as a chain of daisies jumped up to coil around her neck. The fingers tightened, scratching against her skin. She made a move to pull them off, but they tightened slightly with her efforts.

_The key to the curse_, a third voice said, seemingly to sound right at her ear. Bonnie shrugged to get away from it and felt the strange feeling of being observed. She glanced around, but the darkness had become heavier, more suffocating.

_To free the hybrids, you must bleed the girl._

"Bleed her?" Bonnie choked out, feeling the daisies tighten. She gasped a last breath of air as it squeezed more tightly against her throat.

_The blood of the doppelganger will give Klaus his hybrids_, a spiteful voice said just as she felt a kick to the back of her knees. Bonnie fell to the ground, feeling the pained tears well up in her eyes.

_It's Elena or Klaus_, another voice said.

_Elena or Klaus_, the first voice confirmed.

_Your friend_, the spiteful one teased cruelly, _or your foe._

"_Why are you hurting me?_" Bonnie thought in a panic, unable to register their messages.

_You're hurting yourself_, a new voice said. A voice she had never heard before. _The witches cannot hurt you unless you let them in._

This voice was deep and masculine, rising up as if from the very earth. She couldn't pin-point it. It was coming from all around her, like she was wrapped up his being or at the centre of the echoes.

_Wake up_, the male voice insisted, _wake up, Bonnie_.

The daisies began to wilt around her neck, and Bonnie took a deep, desperate breath just as the clouds broke above and she opened her eyes to the daylight.

Bonnie registered exactly three things as she awoke, the dream fading to the recesses of her mind.

She was safe in bed.

The sun was rising.

And she would have to kill Klaus. Before he knew about Elena.

"You're shaking," Klaus said, his meaning hitting her before his voice did. Her mind was so muddled, she wasn't sure he spoke at all until her eyelids fluttered open and she saw _him_ – the hybrid – cradling her in his arms.

"Let me go!" Bonnie said, trying to yell, but her voice came out raspy and tired. She felt a bead of sweat drip from her forehead just as a chill shot through her body. Klaus flexed his arms around her, pulling her even closer to his warmth.

He had heard her breathing grow uneven from the other room and had come in to find the windows blown open, the curtains tangling up in themselves, and a little witch shaking in her bed, her whole body ice cold to the touch. As soon as he touched her, she seemed to calm.

"Shhh," Klaus said, running one hand up and down her arm to warm her up. His other arm wrapped around her, drawing circles under her shirt against the skin of her back. Bonnie squeezed her eyes against another chill and felt herself conceding to his embrace.

"They're gone now," Klaus said, his breath skimming her ear. Keeping her eyes shut, she let herself snuggle closer to his warmth. Her legs tangled with his. She wasn't thinking straight – her mind still in that half-way place between dream and waking – all she knew was the closer she got to him, the warmer she felt – heck, the _safer_ she felt.

Klaus spoke without thinking, letting the words fall from his tongue as he traced the curves of her body with desperate fingers. _She's safe_, he repeated in his head, _safe safe safe_. One hand slid to the curve of her hip and he squeezed possessively for a brief second before sliding it to the small of her back and holding her tightly against him. Her head lay on his shoulder and chest, her little whispery breaths sparking intensely light sensations under his skin wherever they touched. Her hair fanned out behind her, and he couldn't help but twine the curly strands around his fingers, enjoying the texture in his hands. Every small sign that she was alive soothed him.

Bonnie couldn't make out his words at first – all she heard was his voice. Something familiar. Something she could hold on to, use to anchor herself to this world. _Safe_, she thought. Here, at least for now, she would be safe. Her mind was filled with nonsensical thoughts that emerged one moment and disappeared the next until finally, the witches' hold on her completely disappeared from her thoughts.

Then she took one last deep breath of Klaus' deliciously masculine scent before opening her eyes and saying, "Let go."

Klaus relaxed his grip. "I see you have fully recovered."

"I have," Bonnie said, narrowing her eyes slightly. She forced them to remain on his, ignoring the sly smile that graced his lips. He was clad only in sweat pants, and everywhere his skin touched hers, it practically _burned_ with pleasure. She gritted her teeth against the _ridiculous_, juvenile and immature thoughts that threatened to enter her mind. This was Klaus, she reminded herself.

Klaus, who tried to kill you. Klaus, who killed Jenna. Klaus, who is going to kill Elena.

He relaxed his grip on her, propped himself up on one elbow, and let his hand rest casually on her hip. She was about to say something when he started tracing small circles on her hip bone with his thumb.

"You're alright," he pronounced.

"I'm fine," Bonnie said, moving to shift away, but he held her firmly by the hip. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're all magic-ed out for now," Klaus said, his eyes scanning hers. When she didn't zap him with an aneurysm, he knew he was right. "You're running on adrenaline and fear after that... dream. You're going to crash soon."

"Not if you're here," Bonnie said, ignoring the part of her that wanted him to stay.

"Now, Bonnie," Klaus said, "This isn't the first time we've shared a bed."

Bonnie frowned. "That doesn't entitle you to crawl in whenever you want."

"Well," Klaus scoffed, "Apologies for saving your life."

"You?" Bonnie spat, smacking his hand off her hip and rising up to sitting position on the bed. She gave him her fiercest glare. "_You_ did nothing but take advantage of the situation. As usual."

Klaus frowned though he wanted to smile. Her hair was hanging over her face, her lips were pulled into a lovely, taunting pout. She was still trembling, her skin still cool from the witches' attack and her defiance was downright sexy.

"Bonnie," he began, covering her hand in his own. He traced her fingers as he spoke, his eyes deliberately trained on her lips: "I know about the witches. I know they don't like that you are assisting me. I also know that they are afraid of me – that they disappear when I'm around."

Bonnie opened her mouth to reply, but he didn't let her.

"Ah—" he said, "Let me finish." Bonnie's mouth shut and Klaus slid into sitting position himself. She turned her face, he noticed, as her cheeks visibly heated up. He bit back a smile as he leaned forward towards her. Her body stilled suddenly, like prey knowing it is about to be attacked. He let his skin graze hers just barely as he reached beyond her and plucked the necklace off the nightstand. He turned to her then and held it up between them.

Bonnie looked down at Klaus, his face close to hers, as he dangled the necklace between them. One of his hands supported his weight a hair's breadth from the skin of her thighs. It's like he was challenging her not to touch him.

She took the necklace. "Finish, then."

"I know that my presence silences them," Klaus continues, "And that you would detest me if I lingered around you all day, even if it was to protect you from them." Bonnie rolled her eyes, undoing the clasp and proceeding to lock it in the back. "This necklace should have the same effect." His eyes met hers meaningfully just as the pendant settled at the center of her collarbones: "Never take it off."

"Klaus," Bonnie said softly as his eyes dropped to her mouth again. She didn't know if he realized it, but his tongue had darted out for the third time to wet his lips. "My eyes are up here."

"Yes, but your mouth," he said, raising his hand as if to trace it with a finger before thinking better of it and letting it fall back to the bed. "Is fascinating."

"So is my mind," Bonnie assured him, "And it's telling me, you need to go."

"I'm not leaving." Klaus said, his eyes shooting up to hers. In a blink of an eye, he had moved even closer. "You're too weak to fight them off if they return."

"I'm safe if I wear the necklace," Bonnie said. "You don't have to stay."

"Bonnie," Klaus said, his voice dripping with condescension as he relaxed his arms around her and crossed them over his chest. He lay on his back and closed his eyes. "Don't misinterpret my actions, love. I am not here to seduce you.

Bonnie raised a brow in challenge as she pulled herself up to lean on her elbow. "Since _when_?"

Klaus smiled, but didn't open his eyes, "I'm protecting my investment."

"It's very comforting to know that an ancient, psychotic monster who can scare 100 witches wants to watch me while I sleep," Bonnie said, "I'm sure I'll have sweet dreams tonight."

"The more you fight it now," Klaus said, "The more I will laugh when you _beg_ me to demonstrate my sexual skills."

"Ha!" Bonnie laughed loudly. She kicked at Klaus's leg to demonstrate her disagreement, but he didn't even flinch. After a moment's consideration, she decided to let this battle lie. Her body was still trembling slightly from the exertion of staying alive in the dream. Even if the necklace was strong enough to keep them at bay, she didn't have the power yet to take that chance.

_Just one night_, she thought.

Bonnie took her spot on the other side of the bed, not touching the gorgeous half-naked man beside her. Her lips still tingled from his glare. Between her hyper-awareness of his presence and the adrenaline still running through her, she thought she wouldn't be able to sleep at all. But soon, she found herself drifting off as if wrapped up in a warm, comforting blanket.

On the edge of consciousness, she realized that she and Klaus had somehow connected to her again, that she had _somehow_ wound up in his embrace. But instead of feeling repelled, she felt strangely soothed. She felt his voice in his breaths just like she had heard it in her dreams – as if it was coming up from the Earth, anchoring her to this world, centering her in her powers, and chasing away the worst of her dreams.

So, for the first time in a long time, Bonnie decided to put her vendetta on hold, close her eyes, and, at least in that last second before sleep, give in to the pleasure of being wrapped up in the hybrid's arms.

**KB**

Bonnie's skin felt like sunshine against his. Not like the ghost of sunlight that he occasionally felt whisper across him as he stepped outside; but like _real_ sunshine – the kind he felt so many centuries ago as a young boy lying in an open field when the sun was highest in the sky.

Klaus wasn't wearing a shirt, and she curled up to fit so perfectly beside him, with her cheek pressed against his chest and her arm laying carelessly across his chest. Both of his arms were wrapped around her, locked at the fingers. An unbearable sensation of lightness had embedded itself at the centre of his chest that he couldn't shake.

A small waking noise escaped her lips, followed by a low hum as her hand came up to drowsily wipe some drool from her lips. Then, with her eyes still closed, she stretched – breaking his grip on her – and turned on her side. He was about to turn too, to pull her back against his chest – it was _so_ tempting to see how easily they would fit together, how perfect it would be to inhale her pulse pounding at her throat or lay a nipping kiss at her ear as she slept.

Instead, he got up and left the room.

**KB**

When Bonnie awoke, Klaus was gone. She had slept so well, had felt completely recharged as she awoke and stretched like a content kitten. For a moment, she felt gloriously warm all over and the silence – the absence of the witches' voices – was miraculous.

Then she felt the necklace burning against her skin. _Klaus._ That's why they were silent – they feared him. _Klaus_. That's why they were trying to threaten and hurt her – they thought she would betray them.

"I can't wear a damn necklace forever," Bonnie said, "There is only on endgame."

And it began with Elena.

Bonnie took a long shower and tugged on her jeans. In the back pocket was the vile of clear, boundary-sealing liquid that she had conjured up for Klaus. The night he had clothed her in his shirt, and she had reached up to kiss him, piercing his lip and momentarily sampling his blood – she had immediately rubbed the blood into the potion.

The boundary spell was complete. She could lock Klaus in the basement, make it so he couldn't leave without her permission.

_And then kill him_.

Bonnie shuddered at the thought. _Kill and be killed_.

She would do it, she knew she could. But Elena's name was still bouncing around the back of her head – the image of the original doppelganger hanging over her like it was haunting her.

_I have to protect her_, Bonnie thought. _In case I fail, I have to protect her_.

_To free the hybrids, you must bleed the girl_, the voice had said.

There was a way around this, Bonnie thought. She just needed to get out of this house, get to Elena, and figure it out.

She dressed quickly, opting to borrow clothes from the redheaded werewolf's wardrobe again and settling on a simple white blouse with a stiff, high collar. She left her hair down. It was starting to frizz without her styling tools, to return to a mass of tight spiral curls like her mother's and her grandmother's – she liked it.

She grabbed a leather jacket from the closet by the door, and slipped on her own black flats.

She opened the door and took a step out, her mind buzzing to figure out where Damon would be, where Elena would be... when she slammed into the boundary.

She tried again, and the same thing happened.

_Klaus_, she thought angrily. "You locked me in!" she yelled, throwing her shoe at the boundary and watching it bounce through easily. "You bastard!"

**KB**

"Let me out." Bonnie said from her perch on the stair case near the front door as soon as Klaus stepped inside. She had been sitting there for two hours. It was past lunch time, and if she left now she could have a quick chat with Damon before swinging by the school to see Elena.

"Trying to run away, are we?" Klaus said with a smile as he closed the door behind him. His face looked more tired than usual.

"I have business to take care of." Bonnie said, her eyes set and determined.

_Beautiful_, Klaus thought. Defiance has always been beautiful. The way her soft curls were beginning to revert to their original shape and frame her face was stunning to him. He felt the exhaustion drain from his body as he looked at her.

_Bonnie Bennett_, he thought, _I may just keep you around after all._

"My hybrids," Klaus said, "The full moon is in three days. Have you found a way to keep them alive?"

"No." Bonnie said through gritted teeth. His expression darkened and she clarified, "Not yet."

"You know the consequences of your failure," Klaus said. He would kill Elena. She wanted to laugh at the irony – kill Elena, kill the hybrids.

_If you _really _cared about humanity, you would let him do just that_, her conscience pointed out.

"I have an idea," Bonnie said quickly. "But I can't do it if I'm stuck in here."

In two lazy steps, Klaus was before her. "I will bring you what you need."

"What I _need_ is not that simple." Bonnie said.

"Are you suggesting I cannot do the impossible?"

"Some spells only witches can cast."

For a long moment, there was silence. She was about to repeat her request to leave when he sat beside her on the staircase. He leaned forward, elbows on knees, and spoke as if to a conspiratorial partner.

"You love your friends," Klaus said. "I can see that. You want to protect them at all costs. You've even tried to kill me." He paused to smile. "Not that it wasn't sexy as hell."

"Ew."

"Were you not trying to seduce me?"

"You're changing the subject."

"If you don't want to pique my interest with your displays of power," Klaus suggested, "Maybe finish me off next time."

"_Maybe_ I will."

"How you feel about them – Elena, Caroline, Jeremy, the," his voice was coated with disapproval, "_Salvatores_ – that is how I feel about my hybrids. We are both fighting for our people. I am the last of my kind."

"_I _am the last of _my_ kind," Bonnie corrected him. The last of the Bennett witches.

"So," Klaus turned to her, patting her hand with his own. He raised it to his lips without breaking eye contact. "We understand each other?"

"Yes."

"Then, go."

**KB**

"Bonnie," Damon's eyes widened into icey blue saucers before narrowing again at the witch before him. Her hair was a mass of black curls that looked wickedly innocent over her leather jacket. "I didn't expect to see you. _Alive_."

"Glad to surprise you," Bonnie said, following him inside the Boarding House. "Or disappoint you."

"I can only assume by your beating heart," Damon said as she slid the jacket off to reveal the white blouse unbuttoned to the centre of her chest, "that Klaus is still alive". She was just the right height to spy the edges of a hot pink bra that made her deep caramel skin even more tempting.

"Not for long," Bonnie said, rolling up her sleeves. She glanced around the House, as if waiting for signs of disturbance. "Where's Stefan? Is he alright?"

"He's in rehab," Damon sad, emphasizing the words in his own strange way. Bonnie titled her head – she had kind of missed that. Then he walked to the bar and poured himself a cup of O neg. Hadn't missed that.

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Moderation," Damon said, waving the glass around, "If he learns that, for the first time in his excruciatingly long existence, he'll be fine."

"And Elena?"

"Fine."

"And yourself?" Bonnie raised a brow at the bitterness in his last answer.

"The prodigal son has returned," Damon explained, "All is right with the world."

"Alright, good," Bonnie said, twisting her hands in front of herself. "Because there's been a slight hiccough in the plan."

Damon smirked. "Color me surprised."

"He wants me to help him make hybrids."

"Have you?" Damon asked, setting the glass on the table.

"No, but I'm going to." Bonnie said resolutely. She walked towards Damon, and he found himself straightening up in her presence – standing taller. She didn't seem the small, fragile girl she had been when he handed her over to Klaus. That ping of regret had returned as she planted her hands on her hips and faced him like she wasn't afraid. He listened for her heart. _She wasn't_.

"Switching sides, are we?" Damon snarled and rolled his eyes. "Typical Bennett. Can't be trusted."

"It's Elena," she said, feeling Damon's suddenly interested gaze pin her down. "She's the key. If I don't help him, he'll kill her to teach me a lesson. If I tell him it's her, he'll turn her into his own personal blood bank." Bonnie set her lips tightly as she met Damon's eyes. "I have a plan, but it's risky."

"The risk?"

"Hybrids. Everywhere. The next full moon is in three days. Klaus has been really pushy about it," Bonnie let out a frustrated breath, "He's definitely planning something."

"So, what's your big idea?"

"Give him Elena," Bonnie said, a small smirk pulling at her own lips when she saw Damon's controlled but furious expression, "_In moderation._"

**KB**

"Bonnie," Elena was crying when she saw her. Although Bonnie had spent the last month with Klaus, it was Elena who looked like she was living in a war zone. Her eyes had circles under them and she had lost weight. Her skin was pale, and she looked like she barely had the strength to stand. Bonnie, on the other hand, was plump and well rested from Klaus' continental breakfast and late night slumber parties. She quickly shook the thought from her head.

"Bonnie, I'm so sorry," Elena sobbed for the third time.

"It's okay," Bonnie said, "Elena, I wanted this. This is how it has to be."

"I'm so glad you escaped," Elena threw her arms around her friend. "I would never lose you – not for Stefan, not for anyone."

"How is Stefan?" Bonnie asked, pulling away from the embrace. "Is he alright?"

"He's doing better," Elena nodded as if trying to convince herself. "Klaus had starved him of blood for a while before he let him go, so he's been recovering faster than I would have expected." She paused, blinking back tears. "He asks about you."

"I'd like to see him," Bonnie said, covering Elena's trembling hands with her own. "Let him know I'm alright."

"He'd like that," Elena smiled.

"But, Elena," Bonnie said, "Listen to me, you have to trust me."

"I trust you," Elena said. If there was anyone she trusted with her wellbeing, it was Bonnie. Stefan had abandoned her in saving his brother and rejected her attempts to save him. Damon had snapped Jeremy's neck, had always been in it – at the heart of it – for Damon. In the weeks she had spent agonizing over Bonnie's disappearance (and suffering the silent treatment from Caroline who blamed her for what happened), Elena had come to realize that Bonnie truly was the most selfless of them all.

Bonnie took a deep breath. "I need your blood."

"What?"

"Klaus can only make hybrids if he has your blood. I _can't_ risk failing and having him figure this out and come after you. The full moon is in three days – I don`t even know if I can get him where I want him" the basement "before then."

"You want to help Klaus?"

"I have this bottle," Bonnie took out an empty vanilla essence bottle she found in the kitchen, "I've spelled it to replenish whatever liquid it contains when it runs out. If we can get enough of your blood in there, and give it to Klaus, he would have _no reason_ to come after you."

"If you killed him," Damon interrupted from across the room, "He wouldn't be _able_ to come after her."

"No," Elena said, speaking up before Bonnie could explain her plan. "Bonnie's right. If there is a way to get rid of Klaus without her dying, then we have to try it." She met Bonnie's eyes again. "I mean it, Bonnie. If giving him this will make him leave us alone, then I'll do it."

Bonnie nodded, refusing to meet Damon's glare from across the room. Even buying time with Elena's blood only did so much because at the end of the day, Bonnie was still going to kill him. Bonnie was still going to die.

_No point getting your hopes up, Judgey_, she could practically hear Damon's voice, _just do it and be done_.

Just do it and be dead.

Elena cut her finger on a kitchen knife and filled the bottle up. Damon offered her a sample of his aged blood, but she opted for a band-aid instead.

**KB**

Where they kept Stefan was not much better than dungeon she was planning to trap Klaus in. She closed the door behind her as she walked in. Stefan didn't seem aware of her presence until she rest a hand on his shoulder.

He growled at her, his face a mess of black veins.

"Shhh," Bonnie said, twining her fingers in his hair and patting it soothingly like she would a child. "It's just Bonnie."

"Bonnie," Stefan said, his voice pained. "I'm... hungry."

"I know," Bonnie said, "They told me your next blood bag is in a few hours. You're strong, Stefan. Wait."

"Are you really here?" He asked, looking up at her but not extracting himself from her touch. "Are you alive?"

"I'm fine," Bonnie said, "Klaus has not hurt me." She frowned. "On the contrary, has been a bit too attentive and kind."

"Ha," Stefan said, leaning against the wall now. "Bonnie, Damon told me what you did. You shouldn't have."

"I couldn't leave you."

"You walked right into his hands. This is exactly what he wanted." Stefan's fists clenched at his sides.

"It's what I wanted, too," Bonnie said, "I can end this, Stefan. I can kill him."

"You'll die." Stefan said, like he was determining if he liked the consequence as he turned the words over in his mouth.

"I'm human, I will die anyway," Bonnie said, "But I can at least leave this world a bit better with him gone."

"A bit worse with you gone," Stefan added solemnly.

"It will be over soon," Bonnie said. "When I give him the elixir for his hybrids, he will have no use for me. I'll have to finish him quickly then."

"Bonnie," Stefan said, turning to her incredulously. He looked so small and worn in the corner of the cell, "You must know that isn't true."

"He'll try to kill me after the next full moon," Bonnie said, "That's when I'll get him. I'll be ready."

"He isn't going to _kill_ you, Bonnie," Stefan said. "He's not interested in you for a spell. He's _interested_ in you. He finds you _intriguing_. He used to ask me question after question about you. I always knew when he had seen you because he came back with this weird gleam in his eye." Stefan shuddered. "This is probably his way of courting you."

"First, no one says _court_ anymore," Bonnie said gently. "Second, Klaus just likes to play with his food."

"You're wrong," Stefan said. "He will keep you for as long as he can, Bonnie." He smiled wryly at her. "I can't blame him from wanting to. You're stunningly beautiful," Bonnie felt her cheeks heat up, "You're powerful. You know what he is, and you are not afraid of him. There is no one like you, Bonnie," Stefan met her eyes and his were glazed over with darkness again.

"Stefan," Bonnie began, but he interrupted.

"Eternity," Stefan said with a sad smile, closing his eyes and bracing his head against the cool wall, "is a long time to be alone. Klaus has no friends, no lovers. He keeps his family in coffins. Trust me, Bonnie. If he likes you enough to let you live, he is not going to just _let you go_." Stefan opened his eyes and they were normal again. "Look at what he did to me. And I was just a casual friend."

"Are you saying I shouldn't go back?" Bonnie asked, feeling a cold chill as she remembered how Klaus had kissed her, how he had made his way into her bed, how he had used the boundary potion to lock her in the house. Sometimes he looked at her like he was hypnotized, like nothing existed but her. Maybe this wasn't a game... maybe Stefan was right.

"It would be pointless to run," Stefan said, "He will find you if he wants to."

"What should I do?" Bonnie asked, lowering her voice as she heard Elena's footsteps approach.

"What you have to," Stefan said, meeting her eyes once more before they turned black again. "Eternity is a long time to be alone. When something comes around that can change that, it is hard for us stubborn beasts to let us go."

"Stefan?" Elena's voice called from the other side, "Bonnie, is everything ok?"

"Yes," Bonnie called out, her eyes on how Stefan suffered under the sound of the other girl's voice. His brow furrowed, and he dug his fingers into the ground.

_If Klaus thought he felt for her one tenth of what Stefan felt for Elena_, Bonnie realized, _she was in trouble._

**KB**

"Bonnie," Elena said at the end of the night, when she knew Bonnie was going back to Klaus, "Come back to us."

"I will," Bonnie lied to her friend, wrapping her in a final hug. "I will always come back."

"Don't die," Elena cried again, "Especially not for me."

Bonnie held her friend while she cried, knowing that had the Gilbert girl had the strength or presence of mind, she would have found a way to force Bonnie to stay. She would've marched up to Klaus and offered him a vein in exchange for Bonnie's freedom.

But she couldn't let her do that, bonnie knew. Because this was so much bigger now that just Elena, so much bigger than just the hybrids.

_He likes you_, Stefan had said. _He wants _you_, Bonnie – and not just for your magic._

A doppelganger alone wasn't going to satisfy him now, Bonnie thought as she met Damon's knowing eye behind Elena's back. Only a Bennett witch.

**KB**

When she left the Boarding House, the wind had begun to kick up. She was going to walk to the bus stop and go from there back to the house Klaus was staying in. Damon had offered her a ride, but she declined. She didn't want them to know where she was – couldn't risk the rescue.

But instead of buses, came the rain. It was cold and welcome at first, making her shoes squish at the side of the road. There was no bus shelter. She walked to the next stop as the wind kicked up – her hair was drenched and matted to her face and she zipped her jacket up as high as it would go. Her fingers were frozen by the time she made it to the next stop. She stuffed them in her jacket pocket, but the wind and rain just kicked up stronger. When the drops hit her face, they felt as hard as glass – she could have sworn she was cut and bleeding. She had to squint her eyes against the sight.

First, she tried to calm to weather. That just made it worse. The trees around her shook, threatening to uproot and slam against her.

Next, she tried to conjure a bus or a car or a bike or something that could get her back and out of the rain, but there was nothing. A branch flew out of nowhere and knocked her over. She was bleeding and dizzy, and the rain came down harder. It was drenching her jeans, the water creeping up the fabric all the way to her thighs as she strode forward.

_The witches_, she thought as the street lights flickered and went out. The witches are trying to kill me. They know I have Elena's blood.

_So much for your damn necklace, Klaus_, Bonnie frowned, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Do your worst!" she yelled into the night just before the muddy ground seemed to slip out from under her and she fell, rolling forward down a hill into the forest. She caught her balance just before a large, sharp branch was about to slice through her stomach.

She could barely see two feet in front of her.

There were vampires in town, and the witches might very well be leading them right to her.

The weather was disobeying her and her powers were tired out from her body's exhaustion and the spell she had cast on the bottle.

Bonnie didn't have another choice. She ran.

**KB**

It was two in the morning when Klaus threw the door open and ran out. He heard her heavy breathing about a mile away, heard the rushing of her blood in her head, and knew something was wrong.

_She was coming back to him_, the first thought spread through his chest like a candle had been lit.

But then he smelled her blood on the wind and knew he had to hurry.

He found her coughing up blood on her knees at the edge of the forest. Her hair was matted to her head, covered in mud and twigs. Her nose was bleeding and a large gash was around her forehead. Bruises were already forming against her lovely skin and her breathing was labored.

"Bonnie," Klaus heard himself scream before he realized he was doing it, like the name had been plucked from his chest into the air. She looked up at him with such contempt that he almost hesitated.

But he didn't. He scooped her up into his arms, her icy body trembling against his own, and returned her to the house.

"T-th-he witches..." Bonnie said, her voice barely above a whisper. "They want to kill me."

"They want to kill me," Klaus's lips were set in a grim line. "They'll leave you now, you're safe with me."

Bonnie let out an ironic laugh at the thought.

But then Klaus said, "I won't let anything happen to you" with such determination, that she believed him.

When they got inside, he rushed her to the bathroom. Cradling her on his lap, her head against his shoulder, he gouged his wrist open and let the blood drip over her lips. When she realized what he was doing, she sputtered, trying to spit it out and sit up on her own.

"Drink it," Klaus demanded angrily, "You're injured."

"No," Bonnie said, trying to push him off. But Klaus held strong. Despite the panic he felt rising in his throat, he forced himself to say calmly: "Just a sip, love. Just a bit."

He pressed his wrist to her lips again, and he relaxed as he felt her lap lightly at it. Like she was afraid.

"That's it," Klaus said, brushing her hair lightly back with his free hand as he watched the gouge on her forehead close up. "Just a bit more," he said, until the bruises are gone.

She collapsed against him, her breathing still labored, the exhaustion still humming in her body.

"They tried to kill me," she said again, but Klaus held a finger to her lips.

"Don't speak," he said. He reached behind them and turned the water in the bath tub on. He unzipped her jacket and let it fall to the floor. He pulled her jeans off in a split second, and shore her shirt in two quickly after that. The bruises on her stomach and chest were disappearing quickly too. He moved to remove her underwear, but she put her hand on his arm to stop him. She shook her head.

"You need my help," Klaus insisted angrily, "It's nothing I haven't seen before." _Don't send me away when you need me. You _need _me._

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak, but her protest came out more like a sob. She closed her eyes against his image and a hot tear slid down her cheek. Klaus paused at the sight.

"I'm hurting you," he said, feeling like he was kicked in the gut. "You don't want to be naked in front of me."

She was motionless.

"I have to clean you up," Klaus said softly, "You're not strong enough."

She shook her head and tried to sit up in his lap but failed as the dizziness hit her.

"Drink more and be well enough to help yourself," Klaus said, "Or let me take care of you. Either way, you need me."

Bonnie growled softly in frustration, knowing he was right.

"Let me help you," Klaus said, and she was about to protest again when he added: "Please."

She opened her eyes and a split second later, Klaus was half naked too. He stood in front of her as she leaned against the wall, the tub filling up behind her. He reached behind her for some bubble bath, and his face hovered just above her breasts. _Now is not the time to kiss her_, he told himself as he poured the bubble solution into the bath. He leaned back on his haunches, and ran his hands up and down her leg as she gazed at him from half closed eyes.

"I'm cold," she said.

"Come," he said, extending a hand to her. She took it and he led her into the standing shower beside the bath. The hot water hit her and she began to feel better as the dirt and blood and grime flowed from her body down the drain.

Klaus stood beside her, holding her up at the hips. Her eyes were closed as he lathered his hands with soap and began to smooth it over her body.

"Klaus," Bonnie said warningly.

"Trust me," he said. His hands were as hot as the water, running over her shoulders and the back of her neck. He slid the soap underneath the straps of her bra, paused to kiss her stomach and inhale her skin as if in gratitude, before lathering up her legs as well. She let him fill his hands with shampoo and run it through her strands. His fingers against her scalp were hypnotic, she felt like she was being enchanted. She kept her eyes closed the entire time, but even so, she could feel his gaze on her lips.

Klaus wanted to kiss her. A million emotions rattled through him at once. Fear, when he saw her half dead on the lawn. Gratitude, as he wanted to thank whatever luck he had left that brought him to her in time. Desperation, as he felt urges he had not felt in years – to protect, to care for, to heal. And then fear again as he thought she would reject him. He didn't have the mind or the interest in figuring out what he was feeling. All he knew was that he wanted to kiss her.

The rivulets of water that fell from her nose to pool in her lips, and the way her tongue looked when it darted out to drink them – hypnotized him.

The way the foamy soap looked against her skin – hell, the way his hands felt against her soft curves – inspired that pinching lightness at the center of his chest again.

But mostly, it was that she was letting him touch her, that did him in. Part of him wanted to lash out and snap her neck, end this story before the story changed and she betrayed him. But another, more vulnerable part of him thought, _trust her_.

"Klaus," she said, and he closed his eyes to enjoy the sound of his name on her lips.

"Again," he heard himself ask. His hands closed over the curves of her hips, his fingers twisting in her panties.

"Klaus," she said seriously, and he opened his eyes to meet hers. "Thank you."

"It's not over yet," Klaus said, leading her out of the shower. He turned off the water at the bath.

"The water is hot," he assured her. "Get in, I won't look."

And he didn't. Bonnie slid off her panties and bra and sank into the water, letting the bubbles cover her form from his sight. As the heat rushed over her, she began to feel better. Klaus' blood had worked; she didn't feel the bruises or the cuts. Nothing stung. Her muscles aches, but the hot water soothed them. Her skin was still chilly, but the hot water helped her. She leaned her head against the edge of the tub and was surprised to find Klaus' legs on either side of her.

She turned around with a suspicious look levelled at him.

"Turn around," Klaus said as if he was bored. Then his hands fell on her shoulders and started to rub. Bonnie leaned back, and a sigh escaped her lips.

"Oh, God," she muttered, and she could practically feel Klaus's smile as he leaned forward to kiss her head.

"That good, huh?" he asked as he elicited another sexy, feminine moan.

"Yes," she conceded.

"You're safe now," Klaus said. "They won't hurt you now that I'm near."

"I thought the necklace would keep them at bay," Bonnie said, her eyes closed as Klaus's hands found their way to her hair again.

"The witches are stronger than I expected," Klaus said.

"Yes," Bonnie said, _that we are_.

"You'll stay with me tonight," Klaus said, his voice taken on a strange, arrogant timbre. He cleared his throat, and she felt his hands stiffen in anticipation of her response.

"Alright," she said, pausing to rub her face against his arm to encourage him to continue.

And he did.

When she was so relaxed she thought her body was a pool of molten lava, Klaus held out a robe for her and barely gave her enough time to close it before he scooped her up and brought her to his bed. The sheets were soft as pillows. There was a pile of books on one edge that he thoughtlessly kicked to the ground. He set her on the edge and began rubbing the soft robe against her skin to dry her off.

"I'm not four," Bonnie laughed at the serious expression on his face.

"Yes," Klaus grinned, "That is evident."

She nudged him with her foot, and he caught it his hands, pulled it up and pressed a gentle kiss to the soft underside.

"Ahh," she laughed, "that tickles, stop!"

So he kissed her ankle instead, lay soft kisses up the back of her calf, paused at the back of her knee to place and open-mouthed kiss that had her shaking and silent beneath him.

"Klaus," she whispered, and the sound had his eyes turning black. He rubbed his face against the inside of her thigh, smelled her arousal, and had to bite back his baser desires.

"I want you," he said, nudging her robe higher with his nose as he made his way to her hip bone. Bonnie squirmed beneath him when he uncovered it and started to suck.

"Oh, God," Bonnie said again, "I don't have the strength to resist this."

That was all he needed to hear.

In a split second, she was centred between pillows at the head of the bed, and Klaus's entire body was pressing down on her.

"Bonnie," he said, pinning her with those desperate eyes again. His lips hovered above hers.

"Yes," Bonnie said, more an answer than a question. _I almost died tonight_, she thought. _I almost died. I'm dead. _

"Can I kiss you?" He ran his nose against hers and pressed his hips into her body._ This is a moment I'm not supposed to have._

"Yes," she nodded.

He lay a chaste kiss at the side of her lips and began nipping at her jaw line. His hands were sliding her rope open and all she could think was how delicious it would feel to have that heated body pressed against her own. _I shouldn't be alive, I should get a free pass for this_.

"Will you ask me?" he said and she responded with a startled gasp as her robe slipped open and her breasts were pressed against his chest. She wasn't sure if it was her shuddering or him.

"Hmmm?" She asked, losing all thought and wrapping her arms around him.

"Ask me," he said, rubbing the side of his face against hers.

"Kiss me," she said as she felt his hand slide under her, pulling lightly at the small of her back so she was arched deliciously against him. His resulting hiss of breath might have drowned out her words, so she said again: "Kiss me, Klaus."

And he did. He kissed her. He pulled her under the covers and sampled all sorts of delicious spots on her, wondering if she knew how grateful he was that he could – wondering if she knew how grateful he felt that she let him. Not just let him, asked him. Not just asked him, said his name like it was a plea.

He kissed her until he was surprised that she was asking him to stop. Her body was humming with heat, but he knew she couldn't cross that line. Bonnie Bennett couldn't sleep with the enemy.

_I can allow myself a few kisses_, he could almost hear her rationalize, _but I couldn't sleep with the enemy._

So the kisses died down. He wrapped her in his arms and felt as she fell asleep. He nuzzled against her neck as he had longed to do, tucked her body in perfectly beside his own, and considered thinking about the implications of this evening. Then he decided against it. And just slept.

_Some feelings are better kept a mystery._

**KB**

Bonnie was standing at the edge of the bed, dressed in one of his long-sleeved henleys that brushed her thighs. She held her purse in her hands as she rummaged through it.

_The goddess had unwittingly marked herself as _his_ territory_, Klaus thought. It was beyond beautiful to see the proud witch in his clothes. He almost had a thought to rid her of any other options. To see her bathed in his scent pleased the werewolf in him immensely. To see her choose to be enveloped in something of his made his small, childish, selfish ounce of humanity smug with pride. _A goddess had chosen him_.

"Bonnie," Klaus smiled, sleep still lacing his voice. He sat up unashamedly, his bare chest drawing her eyes for a second before she forced her eyes to meet his.

"I have something for you," she said with as little emotion as she could. It was getting harder, she realized, to ignore that Klaus had... _feelings_. As petty and twisted as they were, the more time she spent with him, the harder it got to think of him as _just_ a monster. He was a monster _and _a person.

Careful, she warned herself, before you turn into Elena.

A wicked smile spread across his lips and Bonnie clenched her teeth at the sensations it sparked. "I forgot to give it to you last night."

"Oh?" Klaus arched a teasing brow as he leaned forward towards her. He extended a hand in invitation, his meaning unambiguous, "Better late than never, _love_."

Bonnie dropped the vial in his hand. "It's a self-replacing elixir."

"It's blood." Klaus said, his face darkening as he examined it.

"It's enchanted blood." Bonnie said. "Feed it to your hybrids after you turn them. When the vial empties, it will replenish itself." She paused as a strange smile spread over his face. "Just make sure you keep it pure – it will only replicate what is in it, and you will _not_ be getting any more of that from me."

"Or from Elena," Klaus said.

Now it was Bonnie's turn for her expression to darken.

"I'm a vampire, my dear," Klaus chastised her, "Blood is kind of my thing."

"This is all you get," Bonnie said. "It will replenish as long as it is kept pure. You have no reason to go after Elena again."

"I suppose you think this earns you your freedom," Klaus said, feeling his stomach drop. Suddenly, making hybrids didn't seem as important as keeping this fearless woman in his bed. His mind raced for an answer. "How do I know it will work? You cannot leave until we test it."

_You know it will work_, Bonnie wanted to say. But instead, she shrugged. "As you wish."

The bad feeling in his stomach didn't disappear. It felt hauntingly familiar; it was the same twisted sensation he felt when he found out his father was not his father. The sensation of impending rejection. Banishment. Disowning.

"I didn't realize my freedom had to be _earned_," Bonnie reminded him, "I came here willingly, didn't I? I'm more your guest than your prisoner."

"Yes," Klaus said, more to himself than to her.

"So stop with the threats," Bonnie said, "I can leave whenever I want."

"The boundary spell-"

"Is useless if I level the house," Bonnie said.

He smiled at that. "Clever witch."

Then his face grew serious as he reached for her hand. "Thank you."

Bonnie was stunned by the sincerity in his voice. If she didn't believe Stefan's words before, she certainly did now. He was looking at her like she was more than a tool in a master plan he needed to keep happy (a look she learned from Damon). No, he was looking at her like something he _wanted_. Even as she stood there, she could sense the wheels turning in his head.

"You're welcome," she said, taking a step back.

"How can I thank you?" Klaus said as Bonnie retreated. She could hear the calculation in his voice.

"I'll think of something," Bonnie assured him. She was halfway across the room now and could feel his eyes on her back.

"I will give you," Klaus paused, "An answer."

Bonnie turned, narrowing her eyes at him. "An answer?"

"I've lived a long time," Klaus reminded her, "I have an answer for just about anything you could ask."

"Do you like me?" Bonnie asked bluntly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Do I-" Klaus sputtered, and she almost looked pleased that she had stumped him. "I would think the answer to that was obvious," he said at last with distaste.

"It's a yes or no question," Bonnie said flippantly.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Why don't you answer?"

"Are you projecting your feelings, love?"

"I'm sure you wish I were."

"I know teenage hormones and imaginations are overactive..."

"I'm nineteen."

"Yes, nine_teen_."

"And yet, I'm certain it wasn't _my_ hormones getting friendly in that bed last night," Bonnie's face flushed with the memory, but she schooled her expression to keep it from showing.

"What are you suggesting?" Klaus frowned.

"I've already asked my question, _Klaus_," she spat his name in that angry way he found so sexy, "Answer it."

"Yes," he said matter-of-factly. When Bonnie stayed silent, he continued. "I find you captivating. How could I not? You are everything I am not. You're fragile and beautiful. You're good and beloved. You're the only creature I've met in centuries who may be able to go toe-to-toe with me."

"Sounds like you have a bit of a crush," Bonnie said, clenching her teeth to keep from smiling in embarrassment. Why did she feel like a child again – like she did in the fourth grade when Matt told the class he thought she was cute. She wanted to hide her face, but knew it would be a sign of weakness if she did.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, "I don't _like_ you. I am drawn to you. I crave your presence," _and your love_, he thought, but said instead with a wicked grin, "especially at night."

Bonnie frowned and spun on her heel then, heading towards the door.

_Of course the only great romance of my life is with a man I have to kill_.

But when she got to the door, she paused. "One more question," she said softly.

"Yes?" Klaus said, holding the vial up in the light for another second before enclosing it in his palms.

"Why does this," Bonnie looked pointedly at Klaus' lips, "make me feel..."

"Better?" Klaus interrupted, that desperation back in his eyes again, like he was willing words to come from her lips.

"Don't lie to me," She said just as quickly.

"I won't." Klaus promised. He held her gaze for another second before speaking. "You're a witch, Bonnie. You are connected to the earth. You are strongest when surrounded by creatures of the Earth – _humans_."

"You're the opposite of human," Bonnie interjected.

"Exactly," Klaus said, getting out of the bed. "Vampires will not give you strength. Though, werewolves might. They are as intimately connected to nature as you are, they just see it from a darker, more destructive side."

"So what does that make you?" Bonnie said, her lips setting into a tight line as if bracing herself for the answer.

"My existence may be an abomination," Klaus took a step forward at last, and Bonnie refused to budge in retreat, "But I am as intimately connected to the Earth as you. My vampire and werewolf sides seem to, cancel each other out, so to speak. I've been on this planet, and in Mystic Falls, a lot longer than anyone else you know – with the exception of my family, though they lack the connection to the Earth my werewolf side brings."

Bonnie's chin jutted up as she met his gaze. Klaus was standing directly in front of her, gazing down at her with eyes that made her as dizzy as if they were dancing. "Are you saying, that you ground me? That you ground my powers?"

"Not just yours," Klaus said. He raised his hands to hover just above her skin, as if he was afraid she wouldn't let him touch her – afraid she would reject him. "Why do you think witches enjoy my company?"

"Certainly not your charm," Bonnie said, but a smile pulled at her lips. Klaus leaned forward and did touch her then, sliding his thumb against her soft bottom lip.

"Keep close," Klaus said, like he was making a promise. He leaned forward until he was speaking against her mouth, his voice falling from his tongue to hers: "No harm will come to you."

_Keep close_, Bonnie heard his voice even as she closed her eyes and accepted his surprisingly gentle seductive kiss.

"In fact," Klaus pulled her flush against him, "The closer you keep, the safer you'll be."

_She won't sleep with a man she wants to kill_, Klaus's inner voice warned him – but who listened to inner voices anyway? It was either a challenge he was willing to take on, or a promise that would allow him to tempt to her with all his might without her actually falling for him as well. He was safe to seduce if he could prepare himself that the answer would always be no.

Bonnie blinked up at the face before her for just a second before pushing him away and hurrying down the hall. She didn't spare him a backwards glance. Whatever Klaus was up to, she didn't know. Whether he liked her or wanted to own her, she couldn't figure out. All she knew was that Klaus had to die.

_And how could she kill a man she slept with? How could she kill a man who fancied himself in love?_

Better to keep things simple, she thought.

_Stay far away, Bennett_, Bonnie thought. _The further you are, the safer you'll be._


	10. Meet Your Maker

**AN: Thank you for all of your fantastic reviews, alerts and favourites! I'm loving this pairing and I hope you are, too. Don't stress about the endgame, darlings, it's quite a ways away! Just enjoy the ride! Let's do this!**

_**Meet Your Maker**_

The night of the full moon arrived much like any other night.

If Klaus had been busy with preparations, Bonnie didn't know it. He lounged around the house more often than usual, and there was almost a happy hop to his step. When he smiled, the only strain she could see was in him trying not to grin in that annoyingly charming way of his.

Bonnie was less pleased. She watched the clock tick in the living room like it was her favorite movie on repeat. Time was counting down until the full moon – until the end of her life. Everything was ready to go, it was just a matter of time.

And when you know your life is down to hours and seconds, it is hard to take the ticking of the clock seriously – hard to think of time in the same way at all. Sometimes, Bonnie would lose herself in thought for so long that hours would pass without her knowing it. But she felt the same when she snapped out of it – only the hands on the clocks had changed. Once, Klaus took a seat beside her and, when she realized that she had zoned out for an hour, she turned to see him still sitting there. _Looking at her_. She had frowned and walked away.

He had been doing that a lot lately – looking at her with those intense, concentrated gazes.

When he cooked for her, she accepted it. She ate at the breakfast bar, and he leaned against it, watching her cut and chew each morsel. _Like it was her last meal_.

When she dared to engage him in pointless chatter about some historical point or another or some supernatural secret she had always been curious about, he watched her lips move like he was hypnotized. It made her choke on her words when he licked his lips, made her breath catch when his eyes shot up to meet hers before he answered. And he _always_ answered, as if the information wasn't important – as if he were granting her a dying wish.

At first, she reasoned it was because he didn't trust her; he must know she has something up her sleeve and wanted to keep an eye on her. Then she thought he was the one who couldn't be trusted, no way would he let her live after the hybrids were made – he was lowering her defenses, waiting for the right moment to pounce. But as it hit 7:00 on the night of the full moon, and Klaus still hadn't made his move, she started to think it was something else all together. Something that began from that desperate moment in bed that still made her cheeks heat up when she thought about how the hybrid had made her feel. Desperately wanted. Cherished. Beloved.

When Klaus did speak seriously to her, he hinted at her "impending freedom" in a voice more threatening than promising.

"You've done what you've come here to do," he had said slowly, "You'll be free to go as soon as the blood works its magic."

And then he stared at her, deliberately setting his lips into a tight line. His eyes pinned her with thinly veiled aggression – like he was waiting to pounce based on her response.

She considered a snarky comment. She considered correcting him – telling him that she had, in fact, come here to kill him, not to help him reproduce. She considered levelling him with the infamous Bonnie Bennett glare of rage. Instead, she took his chin in her hands and ghosted her soft lips over his.

It stunned him into silence, and she was gone before he could move to kiss her back.

There he was, on edge on the most anticipated night of his life, and this teenage witch was throwing him off his game with a chaste kiss. She hadn't made any moves to kill him yet, which sparked a small inkling of hope that he couldn't squelch. _Perhaps she cared..._ or, perhaps she was better at this mind warfare than he had planned on.

After all, Bonnie hadn't touched him since they awoke in bed together. She had gone out of her way to avoid him. She dressed in long sleeve shirts and sweat pants and socks, as if she was trying to keep her skin from ever making contact with his again. It was frustrating but, Klaus would never admit, made her no less captivating.

Every time he had decided that this was a silly infatuation that was ending soon – that she would either have to die or have her power neutralized as soon as the hybrids were born – she would smirk secretly to herself, or she would blow hair out of her face, or she would stare at the clock in that incredibly _mortal_ way, and she would endear herself to him all over again.

Yes, he looked at her often. He couldn't help it when she ignored him so blatantly, when she used her affection to silence and infuriate him. He had done the same to many mortals he had known along the way who had fascinated him, because he knew one day, they would die. He would be in a world without them. He would be in a world without Bonnie and he would probably not bat an eyelash when she died. So, could he be blamed for staring at her? Could he be blamed for memorizing the way the sun shadowed her lashes on her cheek, or the way her green eyes danced when she laughed at him? When she sat across the room to avoid him, could he be blamed for remembering how she felt in his hands – her body slick and wet from the shower, her skin hot and flushed under his kisses? When she punished him with her silence, could he be blamed for hearing again the echoes of her moans and the way she asked him to kiss her, the way she transformed his name – a curse – into a seductive plea?

Klaus was so _distracted_ by the witch that he almost thought she had put a spell on him.

But no matter. Soon enough, he would have his army of hybrids checked off of his list and he would be off to solve bigger and more pressing matters. After Mikael was killed and defeated, he would undagger his siblings and deal with their wrath. After that was done, who knows how many decades would have passed? Bonnie Bennett might no longer exist at all.

The thought was both chilling and comforting. Without Bonnie Bennett, that tight, unbearably light sensation that sparked when she allowed him to casually throw his arm around the back of her chair would be gone as well. But then again, so would be his only true enemy. And so would be these conflicting emotions that Rebekah and Kol would mock him for for centuries to come.

_Maybe not undagger them, then, _he thought with a smile.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked, turning her head from the clock on the wall to the man beside her on the couch in the grey Henley, his arm casually thrown beside her. As she was on the far end of the couch, this positioned her uncomfortably close to being in his embrace. She forced herself to meet his eyes and ignore the seductive heat of him that made her skin feel on fire whenever he was near.

_Focus._

"What is what, love?" Klaus said slowly, angling his body slightly and peering down at her. "The time?" She arched a brow, unimpressed. "Surely, you could not have been staring at that clock without being able to read it."

Bonnie snorted. Then she crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her chin in challenge. "I meant, is there something you want? You keep _staring_ at me."

Klaus's lips tugged into a smile. "There is something I _want_, indeed. How perceptive."

"You will have you hybrids shortly," Bonnie deflected, her lashes fluttering rapidly. She hoped he couldn't hear her heart thudding in her chest.

"Yes," Klaus said, leaning forward. "And you will have your freedom."

"I don't believe you," Bonnie said, scanning his eyes. "You're lying."

"Now, now," Klaus chastised, shifting ever closer, "Why ever would you think that?"

"Your word," Bonnie said smoothly. "You never gave me your word I'd leave her alive."

A beat.

Neither moved.

And then Klaus spoke, his eyes pinned to her mouth again. "You're right," he said, his eyes shooting up to meet hers, "I have no intention of letting you walk away from me."

"Why not?" Bonnie asked, shocked to see the golden tinge of werewolf just under the surface.

"You know why not," Klaus said, reaching out to take her hand in his. She let him guide it to the spot on his chest where his heart should be before covering it with his own.

"I don't."

"You seemed to know this morning when you kissed me."

"That hardly counts as a kiss."

"You're right," Klaus's hand had found its way to her face, cradling her chin. He brushed his thumb over her lips and was rewarded when she leaned in to his touch. Her breath was unsteady for a moment, and he took it as his cue to nudge her forward towards him.

"As usual," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"There is more to us than such chaste pecks," he said, watched her lashes flutter again as his cool breath hit her cheek. He held her gaze meaningfully, tilting her chin so their eyes met dead on, "Or have you forgotten?"

"Remind me," Bonnie heard herself saying, surprising both of them.

"As you wish," Klaus said, taking her mouth with his.

_God, I've wanted to kiss you_, Bonnie thought seconds before her lips met his. Even before they were touching, she felt the familiar hot tingles in her lips. She clenched her hand in his shirt as he nudged her mouth open. He placed her other hand on the back of his neck and she wasted no time pulling him closer, turning their kiss from a simple brushing of the lips into something altogether more wicked.

His hands found her hips, pulling her against his waist and she let him.

His hands slide down the back of her jeans, splaying across her butt and, though she flinched in surprise, she let him.

Without moving his hands, he pulled her closer until she was straddling him and he started to move his hands lower, to hotter, wetter parts of her when it hit him.

She pulled back, removing his hands from her like disgusting, alien things, and he couldn't move to stop her.

He eyed her quizzically, tried to find the voice to find out what was happening to him, to threaten her for betraying him, but he couldn't speak.

She pulled a vial from her back pocket and showed it to him by way of explanation and glanced at the clock. When her eyes met his, they lacked any hint of arousal or amusement.

"I have no intention of letting you walk away, either," she said with a smirk, "_alive_."

**KBKBKBKBKB**

Klaus let out a dry laugh, "What a waste of your life ending mine."

She drank the potion that would immobilize Klaus moments before kissing him. Traces of it was still on her tongue, in her bodily fluids – the second that kiss become more than a chaste peck, she knew she had him. He couldn't move, but she knew it wouldn't last long – he was a hybrid, it was a full moon. Besides, who knew what and how many hybrids he had made already heading her way to kill her?

Bonnie dragged him gracelessly down the stairs into the basement, not bothering to shut the door behind her. She dragged him across the floor and chained him up in the werewolf chains. His head had lolled as he watched her do it, his eyes filled with accusation. Seconds after she snapped the last lock shut, pinning his arms open and slightly above his head, the potion wore off and he lunged at her.

He snarled and cursed and threatened her for about an hour. He went on about revenge and hybrids and betrayal. Bonnie had returned upstairs for the clock, and gone to the garage for the bottle of kerosene she had spied a few days earlier.

_We're going to die tonight_, she had explained simply, _and this place will go up in flames right after we do_.

He tried to turn wolf to break out of the chains and she chastised him. _Of course I considered that._

He tried his vampire/hybrid strength to pull them from the wall and she didn't bat a lash. _Reinforced with magic_.

After a few hours of such struggle, he had quieted down. She had picked up the kerosene and began spreading it around the basement, knowing her magic would end in a ball of flame as it often did. He had been so eerily quiet and pensive that when his laughter hit the air, she was stunned.

She had almost thought herself alone. In the darkness. In a pit of kerosene. _Dead_. But she wasn't. Klaus was here.

Bonnie glared at him, "It's not a waste to die for the people you love."

"You're right," Klaus said somberly. "But you're not just _dying_. Love, you've barely lived at all."

"I've lived enough," she said softly, moving again as the kerosene hit the ground. "Seen enough of my loved ones die." She met him seriously. "I'm the last of my line."

"I'm the—" he began.

"No," Bonnie said, silencing him. "You're not. You're the first. I know you've started your hybrid army. You wouldn't let the first opportunity go by. You lounging around the house won't fool me. I know you've used the vial."

"Well, that was the point of it," Klaus said.

"Exactly. There will be hybrids in Mystic Falls by morning." Bonnie said, "And I know there are more Originals. Elijah said, a whole family."

"Elijah," Klaus snarled, "Don't take your cues from a traitor."

"I am _not_ a traitor," Bonnie insisted, biting back the nausea she was starting to feel. "For not siding with you – a homicidal serial killer who has tortured and brutally murdered innocent people for centuries."

"Don't confuse me with Stefan."

"Starting with your own flesh and blood."

Klaus's face hardened at that. "Oh, please, tell me how you really feel."

Bonnie threw the kerosene to the ground and approached him, letting it spill and spread on the ground behind her. The glug of the liquid from the bottle and the click of her ankle boots on the ground were all the sound that filled Klaus's ears. He couldn't hear a thing outside these walls. Although, when she reached out and tugged his chin so he met her eyes, the echoes sounded in his head again – of his name in Bonnie's voice.

And then she spoke.

"Niklaus Mikaelson," she said, and his eyes were alert again. Her hand was still on his cheek, and, after being without her touch for so long, he allowed himself the pleasure of leaning into her touch. "Look at me," she snapped, and his eyes snapped open. "I'm only going to say this once."

"You have my full attention," he said, although admittedly some of it was focused elsewhere than her words. Her leg brushed against his. Her scent invaded his nose. If he leaned just right, he could take a bite out of her wrist and leave her bleeding to death while he awaited some kind of rescue.

"I hate you," she said.

Klaus smiled, distracted from his plans of escape. "Who are you trying to convince, Bonnie? There is no audience."

"I do," she said, nodding fiercely, her grip tightening on his face. "I _hate _you. You're more trouble than you're worth. And quite frankly, I hate that I have to give up _my_ short, unlived life to end your over-expired one."

"More of the lies," Klaus said. "Even at the end, she can't admit that she wants me."

Bonnie slapped him, the sound echoing in the room. She took sick pleasure in the momentary glow on his face, on the cut across his lip from his face making contact with the wall.

"We're both dead, Bennett," Klaus said, spitting blood out before the wound healed over. All of his powers, his instincts – they were all heightened on a full moon. Bonnie unwittingly took a step back, beginning to question whether she had the ability to kill him when he was at his strongest after all. "If you can't be honest now, when can you be?"

"It's only a matter of time," Bonnie said again. She had brought the clock down from the living room with her and glanced at it now, shining her pocket flashlight at it. "Three more hours."

"Ahh, the _witching hour_," Klaus mocked, "You really think that will give you enough power to kill me? You don't have it in you, Bonnie, to kill something you care for."

"I do not care for you," Bonnie insisted, her voice a bit louder than she expected. "Besides, I won't be killing you." She reached her hand up to tap the necklace, "The witches will be. They'll kill us both."

Klaus stilled for the first time – for so short a moment Bonnie didn't recognize it. Bonnie Bennett couldn't kill him. He knew the chink in her armour, he knew her tragic flaw. Those witches, on the other hand...

_Bonnie Bennett was afraid to die_. She feared death – that's why she could never take that final step. Everyone saw her as a noble, self-sacrificing martyr – including Stefan. No one stopped to realize that behind that facade, she was still a young woman who had barely begun to live. He thought if he could get her talking enough about her own death, she would chicken out as she had before.

And yet, she had outsmarted him. He hadn't anticipated her circumventing that flaw by putting the witches completely in charge.

Klaus laughed. He was going to die. He was _really_ going to die. Although, she hadn't put the witches in charge yet, maybe he could...

"You're not supposed to be laughing." Bonnie frowned.

"Many men," Klaus said, his voice taking on a nostalgic lilt, "And I mean _many, many_ men – have died before me. Lived their last moments before me." He didn't have to look at Bonnie to see her eyes pinned on him. "I have seen them grovel and beg for mercy. I have seen their minds turning with plots of escape. I have seen a few sacrifice themselves for the people they loved – I even gave them the peace of mind to believe they genuinely had saved their families, waiting to do away with the rest of them after they died."

"You're sick," Bonnie spat.

"So it amuses me," Klaus made a point of ignoring her, "that the most righteous of them all will go up in flames a liar."

"I am _not _a liar." Bonnie insisted. "I have not lied to you."

"You care about me." Klaus said dismissively.

"I know you're trying to play me," Bonnie said, gripping his necklace in her hands. "It doesn't matter what you say," she said, watching his eyes narrow on the necklace. He must have known what was coming next. "I'm not going to change my mind," she said, and in one sharp tug, her neck was bare.

She cast the necklace to the ground amid his wordless protests before his eyes met her with anger. And then clouded over with regret. And then, finally, amusement. Amusement at his own death.

"Witches," he laughed humorlessly again, "Of course I would die at the hands of a witch."

"Try a hundred witches," Bonnie said sweetly.

"And one," Klaus counted her.

Bonnie took her seat on the kerosene container again. She reached into her pocket absently and found it empty. She sighed, glancing up at the small basement window. She could see the moon in the distance, knew it would soon be the witching hour, when the witches' powers would increase and they would be able to overcome her hold on them. They only needed her conscious long enough to do away with Klaus. After that... well, after that she was dead.

And there was no going back now. She could already feel them beginning to flex their muscles behind the wall of her skin. Bonnie felt her chest tighten and blinked away some tears as she stared at that moon, as she wished she had had the foresight to bring with her a cell phone to say her goodbyes.

_Goodbye, Elena_, she thought, willing her thoughts to meet them. _Goodbye, Caroline._

"Are you not even going to torture me?" Klaus interrupted in as bored a voice as he could muster.

"I'm not a monster," Bonnie said,

"Then, whatever will we do to pass the time?" Klaus smiled, "You couldn't have waited until _after_ to drag me down here?"

"After what?" Bonnie asked, her cheeks heating up seconds later: "There was not going to be anything for anything to come after."

"Again with the lies," Klaus chastised. "If you can't be honest now, when can you be?" She opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off, "The witches can't be stopped now. I know that. I'm not trying to change our fate."

_Our_ fate.

A beat.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Make the most of the," he glanced at the clock, "minutes we've got left."

"I'm not letting you out."

"Not asking you to."

"What are you asking, then?"

"For some honesty," Klaus said. "I know when you're lying, your jaw clenches."

Bonnie shifted uncomfortably, "Well, you have been staring at me a lot lately."

Klaus smiled. "You noticed."

"How could I not?" Bonnie said, "It's like being circled be a shark."

"A handsome shark." Klaus corrected.

"Alright," Bonnie conceded, brushing her palms off of her jeans. Her hands were starting to shake. The witches were eerily silent. They must be saving their energies, pooling their powers. "A _handsome_ shark."

"I knew you found me attractive." Klaus lowered his voice conspiratorially, "It was the moans that tipped me off."

Bonnie's eyes widened. She approached him strides, poking him in the chest to emphasize her words, "I did _not_ moan."

"Oh, you did," Klaus assured her with a sly smile. "It was delicious."

"So maybe I found you mildly attractive at some point while out of my right mind," Bonnie conceded grudgingly, glaring up at him. "Sex isn't love. Didn't your mom ever tell you that?"

Klaus laughed loudly and humorlessly then. "She would know."

When Bonnie's quizzical expression didn't change, he added, "I'm sure my _real_ father made that one clear."

A pause.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said at last. "Parents can be pretty shitty. You were just a kid. No kid deserves that."

"That's the first honest thing you've said all night," Klaus said, just as softly.

Bonnie pressed her lips closed, like she didn't know what to say – or didn't want to say anymore.

So Klaus spoke instead: "Kiss me, Bonnie."

Bonnie laughed and shook her head, the pinned him with eyes that said _you really _are _crazy_.

"Kiss me, Bonnie," Klaus said, "No one will ever know. We are going to die here, after all, right? All of our secrets will die here, too."

Bonnie blinked up at him, and he pressed harder.

"Come on, Bennett. You will never be kissed again. You will never be properly _loved_. I am the last man you will ever be with, let alone _be with_. We're on our death beds, love," Klaus said, "And there's no where I'd rather be when the lights go out, than with you."

Bonnie snorted, breaking the moment. "You're a thousand years old, I'm pretty sure there's someone you'd rather be with."

"No," Klaus said, thoughtfully, startling them both with his honesty. "There is no one. I have no friends to speak of. I keep my family locked up in wooden boxes." He met her eyes seriously then. "I killed my mother, and my father has hunted me for centuries. You are not the only one who will die unloved."

"Klaus," Bonnie began, but he cut her off.

"You were the closest I ever came," he said, hearing her breath catch at his words. "To caring."

"Well, I'm worried," Bonnie let out a shaky breath, "That you were the closest I came to being cared about." She tilted her head then, and he caught the sight of a tear in the moonlight as it slid down her face like a shooting star. "Then again, I've had substantially less time than you."

"You're right," Klaus smiled in exaggerated defeat, "You win. You're more loveable."

"I could've told you that," Bonnie teased.

"I could've told _you_ that," Klaus said, leaning forward as much as he could. She shifted, almost imperceptibly, towards him.

"This doesn't count," Bonnie said, her eyes rising to meet his for a shaky second before falling back to his lips, "I'm going to die. I'm going to be gone. I'm never going to fall in love or get married or have kids..." Bonnie sniffed, "I'm never going to see my family again."

"I'm right here with you," Klaus reminded her. "I'm going to _die_-die. I'm never going to fall in love. Even if I could see my family again," Klaus's eyes grew distant for a moment, his face harder, "They wouldn't want to see me."

"Can we be dead now?" Bonnie asked, her voice low. "Can we be dead now, so none of this can count?"

"None of what can count?" Klaus pressed. He was straining as much forward as he could go. She was _so_ close.

"I shouldn't care about you," Bonnie said suddenly. Her fingers slid into his belt loops and he was startled by her touch. Under his shirt, she rubbed her thumbs against his skin absently and Klaus wanted to close his eyes from the simple, simple pleasure of it.

"But?" he pushed.

"But I do," Bonnie said, meeting his eyes. She blinked back tears and laughed at herself. "I do, I care about you."

"Not enough to not kill me," Klaus said.

"No," Bonnie conceded, her hands falling from his jeans.

"But enough to make it a bit," he struggled to find the right words, "easier."

She arched a brow at him, and his eyes dropped meaningfully to her lips. She seemed to notice for the first time that he had moved to be as close to her as he could with the chains. His face hovered just a space above hers.

He was _so_ close, she reasoned. She would be dead soon. He would be dead soon. None of this matters. No one would know. This didn't change anything.

So, she rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Klaus growled into their kiss, his hands straining against the chains. The werewolf inside of him, trapped during the full moon, was eager to express its nature anyway it could. And right now, it wanted Bonnie. He slanted his lips against hers, and all he could think was that no one else could do this but him. She was his. At the end of the game, she was his.

She took a step into him, her hands finding his hips and tracing his hip bones above his jeans and he repaid her by trailing kisses down her jaw line to her neck and back. She kissed him back as ferociously, like a woman dying. But it wasn't enough – he needed more.

He needed the pressure of her body against his. Klaus took a step back and she followed with him, connected at the lips, like a dance. She walked right into him, her body sliding easily against his and she shivered at the pleasure of the contact. One of her hands slid up his chest to tangle in his hair. He shifted so one of his legs stood between hers. She pressed against him, was startled to see how much he wanted her – even in this dungeon on the verge of certain death, and couldn't help but press against him harder. Klaus bit out a curse at the contact, expressing his approval through his kiss until she had to take a breath and relaxed against him. He nuzzled her neck with his face, laying a kiss to her pulse. He had a vague thought about biting her, killing her before she killed him, but he wasn't ready for _this_ to end. It had only just begun.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, closing his eyes against the searing pleasure that was promised him – so close and so untouchable. The chains clanged above them as he tried to reach her. "Next month," he said, licking his lips as he stared down at her, "Kill me next month."

"Doesn't work like that," she would have laughed if she wasn't similarly affected by their kiss.

"Bonnie," he pled, rubbing his face against hers before catching her ear between his lips. His voice sent shivers through her as he repeated her name. "We could've been something," he said.

"If you weren't such an evil bastard," she said. A small smile graced her lips, pink and impossibly soft from his kisses.

"If you weren't such a self righteous witch," Klaus said before his eyes darkened. "I want to touch you."

"Klaus..."

"I've wanted to touch you for days, and you avoid me," he accused. "Grant a dying man his last request. There's no going back now, the witches will still have their way with us."

"So I should let you have your way with me?" Bonnie arched a brow.

Klaus returned a smirk, "You're catching on."

"I'm not letting you out," Bonnie warned.

"I can turn," Klaus said, "Walk behind me."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him skeptically, but did as he asked anyway. Her back was to the wall, and the chains provided enough wiggle room for Klaus to turn to face her. His hands were crossed at the wrist and held above them, but he didn't mind. The more he could enclose her in himself, the happier he was.

"Bonnie," he said, glancing at her and gesturing to his shoulders, "If you'd be so kind."

Bonnie reached forward and rested her hands on Klaus's shoulders, linking them casually around his neck.

"Jump," Klaus said.

"What?"

"Dying man," Klaus reminded her, "Last wish."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes and jumped.

Klaus used his vampire speed to manoeuvre so she was pinned against the wall, he legs wrapped against his weight. There it was - the glorious pressure. He could feel the heat of her through their jeans and the chains clanged again above them.

"I want you," he said, lowering his head to reignite their kiss.

"I know," she whispered back, and started to move against him. He felt so good pressed up against her. It wasn't just the sexual rush – there was something about sincere, about-to-die Klaus that made her heart clench. He was talking to her, looking at her, the same way he had that night when he saved her from the witches. There was something so hesitantly caring about him that called out to her and it amazed and disgusted her at the same time. Then there was the magic rush – the witches were going to wake up soon, she knew it. And being this close to Klaus was just giving them more fuel.

But she was going to die anyway, Bonnie thought, and she couldn't bring herself to stop _this_.

Klaus was caught between the pain of the chains as his hands strained against them and the absolutely addicting woman before him. He couldn't pinpoint what she tasted of – or if it was all uniquely her – but it was delicious. The softness of her body against his, the warmness of her mouth and smoothness of her lips – it was all _so_ feminine, so _mortal_ and _good_. He wanted to crush her in his palms and trick her into loving him all at once. He had never craved something so _different_ from him before. He thought it was her power that drew him to her but now... now he thought it was something else altogether.

Bonnie bit her lip against the pleasure of it all. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine they were in bed somewhere and not chained to a wall, waiting for the witches to make their move. He ground his hips against her and she forced herself to bite back a moan.

"It's ok," he said, his voice rough in her ear as he lay open mouthed kisses on her throat, "It's ok, it's ok. Say my name," he said, voice lost between a demand and a plea, "No one will know."

"Oh, _God_," Bonnie muttered incoherently in his ear as he shifted his hips against her. "Klaus."

"Yes," Klaus said, squeezing his eyes against the reality of their situation. If he could go out feeling this, this tightness in his chest, this electricity behind his skin; if he could go out to the sound of Bonnie's voice moaning his name against his ear, it would be ok. It would be OK. He could do this. He could die.

"Oh, God," Bonnie said again, pulling away from him. Her voice was pained, her brow furrowed. "Ahh," she let out a small whelp of pain as she clenched her teeth. One hand flew to her head and the other clenched tightly around his shoulders. "Klaus, it's happening."

"Hold them back," he said, watching as the blood started flowing from her nose. She shoved him off of him and he let her.

She walked to the center of the room, cover her face. When she turned to face him again, her hands were covered in her own blood. Klaus clenched his teeth, meeting her eyes and preparing for the onslaught when suddenly, the door opened.

Light poured in from the living room.

They both turned to see who walked in. Bonnie was half expecting to see Damon and was surprised when the familiar face of a stranger walked in instead. Another wave of witches' power took her over and she fell to her knees. Klaus grunted against the pain, but he was breaking out into a sweat.

"The girl," he said to the stranger who came in, nodding at Bonnie as she approached her at record speed. She leaned forward, about to wrap her hands around the witch's neck when Klaus said, "Don't hurt her."

"She's harming you," the stranger snapped back. Bonnie saw them speaking as if through a haze. The room was blurred with the vision of the power echoing through it. The stranger was slightly taller than Bonnie and more curvaceous, but they were roughly the same size. Her hair was long and red, and her eyes were yellow.

_Hybrid_, Bonnie realized, and turned to face her, hoping to use her magic to incapacitate her.

But the hybrid reached out and grabbed her, spun her around so her back was to her chest and they both faced Klaus.

"Smother her." Klaus said, his face hard and unforgiving. Bonnie glanced at him in confusion as another wave of power surged out of her and he couldn't stop the howl of pain that rose up in his chest. When he looked at her again, one eye was black and veined while the other was the gorgeous golden yellow of a sunset.

She thought for a moment _how strangely beautiful_ before the hands of the stranger descended on her and the young witch was cast into darkness.


	11. Dearly Departed

**AN: **_**Thank you**_** for the reviews and favorites! Each time I get one, it makes me smile! I'm going to try to update often now that school is done. ****A lot**** goes on in this chapter, so I hope it all makes sense. If not, I'll try to clarify more in the next one Tonya, you're the only one that got the **_**Misfits**_** reference! Yay! Ran-Manwen, thank you for the reactions on your tumblr! It was absolutely delightful, I'm so flattered! **

_**Dearly Departed**_

_I'm alive_.

The thought ricocheted inside her head, but she dared not open her eyes. Where would she find herself? In a dungeon, chained up? At the ends of the Earth? In a grave, in the darkness, six feet under?

The last thought sent a chill down her spine, the panic forcing her to sit up and open her eyes.

She was in her room. On her bed. The sheets, which smelled of detergent, were half on her legs and half on the floor. The moon shone through a large window that had been opened enough for a small breeze to come through. She didn't realize how much she had missed the sound of the leaves on the tree outside her window rustling in the wind.

Subconsciously, Bonnie reached for the necklace at her throat and found it gone.

She closed her eyes and searched her mind, her spirit – but the witches were gone, too.

_Smother her_.

His voice entered her head uninvited and she felt it all over again: the dizziness of the spell, the lightness of breath – the hundreds of witches using her body as a conduit for their power as the stranger closed her hand over Bonnie's mouth. That chemical smell, the image of Klaus' crazed eyes just moments before... she must have passed out.

For the first time in a long time, Bonnie Bennett was all alone.

She felt the sting of tears in her eyes and clenched her teeth against them. Setting her lips into a determined line, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. When they hit the floor, she was surprised to see her leg shaking. She stilled it with a forceful hand on her knee.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice came from the doorway.

Bonnie looked up and saw Stefan. "What... happened?" Her other hand flew up to her throat, and she could almost feel the hybrid girl's hands again. Even her voice didn't sound quite the same.

"I was hoping you would tell me," Stefan's brow furrowed. He leaned in the doorway, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his legs crossed at the ankles. Everything about him was _cross_.

"It didn't work." Bonnie said, a heaviness settling over her chest as she glanced down at her shaking knee. Her eyes shot back up to Stefan and she almost grimaced at the pity she saw there. "He's still alive, isn't he?"

"He is," Stefan nodded. "I brought you back here the morning after the full moon."

"It's night now," Bonnie said, her mind still foggy. She focused on her leg, determined to make it stop shaking.

"Bonnie, listen," Stefan said. "I brought you back here _three days ago_."

"Three days?" Bonnie shook her head. "I've been... sleeping?"

"Unconscious. My guess is chloroform," Stefan frowned, "And substantial amounts. Every time you almost came to, you slipped back under."

"She smothered me." Bonnie said, suppressing a chill at the words. Then she met Stefan's eyes, and said more fiercely: "She smothered me! I passed out. She broke the witches' hold in this world. I was their conduit, Stefan. Without me, their magic wouldn't work."

"That's why you're alive today," Stefan said.

"That's why _Klaus_ is." Bonnie's hands fisted into the sheets underneath her.

"Both of you," Stefan conceded quietly.

Bonnie moved to stand, intended to stride across the room. But as soon as she placed her weight on her legs she collapsed to the floor. She could hear the floor creak under her sudden weight, could feel the bruise before it had even begun to form.

"Careful," Stefan warned, suddenly at her side. He touched her shoulder to help her up, but she shrugged him off. Bonnie pinned him with a ferocious look.

"What did he do to me?"

"Klaus," Stefan extended his arms to reference the witch before him, "isn't capable of this kind of damage on his own."

"What are you saying?" Bonnie said, pulling her legs into a more comfortable sitting position. She started to massage the muscles and found them eerily chilly to the touch.

When Stefan didn't respond, Bonnie lifted her eyes to meet his and found them studying her.

"The witches," he said slowly, and Bonnie knew his next words before he spoke them: "They're no longer with you."

"They must have left when I failed," Bonnie said, a sharp peak of humiliation hitting her. They had been angry at her before. She had tried to make it up to them, tried to stick to the plan. But there was something growing inside of her that they didn't like – a weakness that threatened to spread like black veins across her. She was rotting at the core. And at the centre of it all was Klaus and the confusion he inspired.

"Their power was too much for you. You knew you were going to die if you channeled it all," Stefan said, and she let him rest his hand on her shoulder in comfort. "You must have been pretty far in the spell to have suffered this badly."

Bonnie frowned. "You're saying this was all the witches?"

"Besides having his hybrid smother you," Stefan said as if remembering a distant conversation, "Klaus didn't lay a finger on you. You would've awoken much sooner if it wasn't for the internal damage from the spell."

"How damaged am I?" Bonnie asked, her voice barely escaping the suddenly tight confines of her throat. "Stefan, is my magic... gone?"

"I don't know," Stefan said hurriedly as he heard her choke back a sob.

She turned her face away from him and he turned his eyes away from her, staring past the young witch into the branches of the tree outside the window and the crow that rested there. And the fog that suddenly encased the evening.

"But I'm not leaving here," Stefan said lowly after a long while, "until I do."

"They should have just killed me," Bonnie's voice came out more whimper than whisper.

**KB**

"We should have killed her," Idina said. The redhead was sitting on the couch in _Bonnie's spot_, her eyes still a glassy black from her first feeding of the day. She licked blood off of her slender fingers like it was melted ice cream. Klaus turned away in disgust.

"She wore my clothes, she slept in my room." Her green eyes met his then, and he thought _not Bonnie's green_, "I can still _smell_ the witch and she was only here a few weeks."

"Bonnie." Klaus said, his lips pursed as he glanced at the girl. He had a crossword spread in front of him, but none of the letters were making sense. The events of the last seventy two hours were taking their toll on his concentration.

He had taken the three werewolf roommates from their home to a more secluded location. He enchanted it with Bonnie's potion so they couldn't leave. He visited them often, explaining to them the beautiful future that awaited them. He brought them food and provisions. And, when the time came, he bit into his wrist and offered them all sips of his blood. And then he killed them.

He left the vial with Elena's blood on the counter in the kitchen beside three shot glasses.

Idina was the only one who drank. The others died in self righteous agony. _Pity_.

"She ensured your survival," Klaus reminded the young upstart, "The least you could do is remember her name."

"You're right," Idina said and offered a sweet smile. But inside she was seething. _Bonnie Bennett_. Bonnie tried to kill Klaus – Klaus who had been charming and kind to her; Klaus who had saved her from the curse of the full moon; Klaus who had given her eternal life. And how had he reacted? He told her _not_ to kill her. So she didn't.

Idina had reached into her back pocket with vampire speed and extracted the chloroform-soaked handkerchief and held it over the witches' neck. Klaus had left the chemical bottle near the door of their prison with a command that it be brought to him. She thought it was a test, a show of loyalty – the first step in a series of tasks to demonstrate her appreciation of the gift.

But she was just his insurance.

And after incapacitating the witch and freeing Klaus from his bonds, did she even get a word in thanks? No, she didn't.

Instead, Klaus had walked directly to the fallen witch without more than a dismissive nod at Idina. He scooped her up and set her on the couch upstairs. And then he paced. He sat with her and stroked her hair. He traced the lifeline of her palms with his own. He held her wrist to his ear as if he would be more assured of her pulse beat if he did. And then, he got a phone call and paced some more.

A few hours after dawn, when another vampire showed up at the door to strike some kind of bargain, Klaus had instantly agreed.

He had picked the witch up and handed her over to the other vampire himself.

Perhaps Klaus didn't realize Idina saw – or worse, _didn't care_ – but he pressed a brief kiss to Bonnie's forehead before handing her over. Then he set his expression to indifferent and pretended like it didn't matter.

Though that was the last Idina had seen of her, she knew it wasn't the last Klaus had seen.

No, maybe he didn't _physically_ see her, but Idina knew he _saw_ her everywhere. He hovered over the kitchen sink and drank tap water from a wine glass. He sat across from the couch but frowned a bit whenever she took a seat on it. When he walked past her bedroom door, her paused occasionally, and she thought – for a moment – that he might come in. Then she realized he was subconsciously seeking out the witch. And her jaw set and her expression steeled.

_Bonnie Bennett_, Idina said the name over and over again in her head as if, if she thought it enough, she could summon her. Or cancel out the summons emanating from Klaus. Because she knew, from the set of his lips, and the way his gaze strayed to the trap door that had since been busted open, that he was replaying her name too.

_Bonnie Bennett, Bonnie Bennett_, Klaus thought in the rhythm of a heart beat as he twirled the pen around. How to get back _all_ that is mine?

For a brief moment, he had had it all. Bonnie Bennett on the verge of being completely loyal to him. Completely beholden to him. Safe from any threats (besides herself, of course). His family tucked away in coffins. His hybrids about to be born. Though, admittedly, he was about to die.

And then came the Salvatore who left him no choice but to slowly begin to lose it all.

_You're alive_, the Ripper had greeted him grimly.

_Don't sound _so _disappointed_, Klaus had sneered, his eyes still on the little witch as Idina sucked on a blood bag in the corner. _What do you want?_

_Bonnie_, the Ripper had said, _for your coffins._

A beat.

_Stefan_, Klaus had replied with a note of condescending warning in his voice, _don't do something that can't be undone._

_I can say the same to you_, Stefan assured, _What was it Elijah feared? A family in coffins at the bottom of the ocean? I don't think you want to spend eternity scouring the Marianas trench for them._

_I will destroy her before I return her to _you, Klaus promised. He still remembered how his chest constricted at the thought.

_For each _inch _of her you've injured_, Stefan said noncommittally, _expect it to be _that _much harder to locate the coffins._

_I haven't laid a finger on her_, Klaus snarled and Stefan thought he almost sounded... offended.

_Bonnie or the coffins_, Stefan had repeated, pausing in anticipation of an answer. As if he was testing him.

Bonnie or the coffins.

Bonnie, Klaus thought.

_The coffins_, he said. _Be here in ten minutes or the deal is off_.

The acts of betrayal committed by the contents of the coffins did not sting as sharply as Bonnie's did. And, what had he done to Bonnie _really_? Clothed her, housed her, fed her – didn't feed on her. He had been kind and almost, well, affectionate to the little witch all the while tolerant of her plot to kill him – all the while expecting that she ultimately wouldn't dare.

But she didn't. And if it weren't for Idina, they would both be dead.

Klaus' hand crushed the news paper at the thought. He dropped the paper and stood suddenly, startling Idina to lose the dazed smile on her face.

Picking it up, Idina frowned at the abandoned crossword puzzle. "Star-crossed lovers?" She called out to his retreating form. "Pretty sure that's _Romeo and Juliet_!" She heard the door close upstairs and tossed the paper to the ground.

"Not _Bonnie and Klaus_."

**KB**

"So," Damon said from his perch on the porch as Bonnie took her first tentative steps outside to the tune of the rising sun. She was wrapped in a thick blanket to protect against the cold, her oversized fuzzy slippers announced her presence with loud claps against the wood. "This is where you've been hiding out."

"Damon," Bonnie greeted the older vampire warily. Even with his back to her, in a dawn covered with fog, he could sense her presence – a trait that once irritated her, she was now grateful for.

"Venturing outside at last, are we, Bennett?"

"It's lonely," Bonnie admitted, "With Stefan gone."

"Stefan or Klaus?" Damon turned to her as she took a seat beside him, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "You didn't do what you set out to," he sang out tauntingly, but the darkness in his eyes and the furrow of his brows showed more concern than his words could.

"I tried," Bonnie said, "I was close. A hybrid saved him."

"No," Damon scoffed, shaking his head before pinning her again with fierce baby blues. "_You_ saved him. You gave him the means to make hybrids. It's almost like you wanted to give him an easy out."

"That's not true," Bonnie frowned. "I had to bide my time, wait for the Witch's Hour and the red moon. I wasn't strong enough on my own. You weren't there – you don't know what it took—"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Damon interrupted with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"You were against this plan from the beginning," Bonnie accused. "You're secretly happy to see me fail."

"I'm glad you're alive," Damon snapped quickly, stunning both of them with his admission. After a pause, he cleared his throat and tried again. "We live to fight another day."

"Except now he has hybrids, which you blame me for," Bonnie said, her lips setting into a firm line as she stared into the foggy distance.

"And his family, which I blame Stefan for." Damon said snidely.

"Wait," now it was Bonnie's turn to furrow her brows. "What do you mean? He always had them. Elijah was after them."

"Stefan stole the coffins," Damon sang out. "They day after you returned to Klaus' mansion, he punched Alaric out and broke out of the basement," he said the last part with a smirk, almost like he was proud or amused, "We thought he'd gone after humans, but he came back the next day with the coffins." Damon's eyes went glassy as he recalled the scene, and Bonnie couldn't help but smile softly at the look on his face – he was impressed. "Elijah. Rebekah. Two brothers. We opened them all, and there they were, daggers in heart. One big, _deceased_ family."

But then his entire countenance darkened: "And then he went and gave them back."

He turned to face Bonnie: "_For you_."

"He gave up our biggest negotiating weapon?" Bonnie asked, and Damon balked at her obvious surprise. "For me?"

"How did you think he got you back?" Damon frowned. "Is there another reason Klaus wouldn't kill you on the spot?"

"No," Bonnie said, fighting the tinge of _something_ she didn't want to examine too closely from entering her voice. "No, I suppose there isn't."

Damon tilted his head as if he hadn't heard her. "Well, we couldn't open one. That coffin we kept. Always good to have an ace up your sleeve," he said before smirking, "Oh wait, you're Bonnie. You don't cheat. _Or_ gamble."

"I think I get the analogy," Bonnie said.

"We kept that coffin when he went to make the trade, but when we got back, it was open."

"What was in it?"

"Nothing." Damon said. "Whatever – or _whoever_ – it was, is gone."

"Klaus' father?" Bonnie suggested tentatively.

"Klaus isn't the type to keep his enemies _that_ close," Damon said before pausing and turning to her with a knowing smirk. "Or _is he_?" As he glowered at her with a predatory gaze, Bonnie maintained an impassive facade.

"Did you want me to try to figure out what was in the coffin?" Bonnie said shortly.

"No," Damon said.

"The witches are gone," Bonnie said, "I don't have the power to try to kill him again."

"I know."

"My powers have faded," Bonnie confided quietly, "They're returning slowly, but it might be days or even weeks before I'm at full capacity again."

"So, no aneurysms," Damon concluded.

"Just lighting candles and levitating feathers," Bonnie almost laughed at herself. "Parlor tricks."

"I don't need your magic."

"Then what are you here for, Damon?" Bonnie frowned in confusion as she tried to figure him out. "Stefan has been by to check on me. Elena has visited. You know I... failed. That I survived. Why are you here? What do you want?"

There was a pause where Damon studied her closely with his icy blue eyes before he shook his head and spoke: "I knew it was a mistake the minute I put you in his hands."

Bonnie smiled softly, and they both averted their eyes from each other. "You did what I asked."

"And," Damon said quickly, as if he had to get the words out before he changed his mind, "Thank you."

Bonnie focused on the distance to calm the emotions she felt at having her efforts acknowledged by someone – by _Damon_, no less.

"For trying."

When she turned to look at him, to offer a watery smile, he was gone.

So she sat alone, in the fog, unaware of the plotting eyes that were watching her.

**KB**

_How to get back all that was his? _

Klaus was dressing in the master bedroom, ignoring the sounds of insipid Idina going through her morning routine down the hall.

_The coffins had been moved to the mansion he was having renovated and was being guarded twenty-four hours a day by two additional hybrids he had created using the vial of Elena's blood. He was missing the locked coffin, but that hadn't been opened in millennia; and he couldn't, realistically, consider its contents a threat._

_So, family? Check._

He ran a comb through his wet hair and examined the smattering of facial hair on his cheeks.

_He had Idina and, as a bonus, her unerring loyalty. He also had created two more hybrids, and could easily branch out to other werewolf packs in the future._

_Hybrids? Check._

Klaus pulled a Henley shirt on over his head, much like the one he had seen Bonnie wearing when she awoke in his room.

_Even better, with the vial, Bonnie had ensured that there was no reason to kill Elena or turn her into a human blood bag. However, she had also ensured that there was no reason to keep the doppelganger alive either._

_Avenue for revenge against Stefan? Check._

He fingered the necklace on the table, holding it up to the light as if to examine it further – as if to see some trace of the witch or her presence in his life.

_All that was missing was Bonnie..._

Klaus' thoughts were interrupted by a sharp, almost regal, knock on the door.

"What?" Klaus barked as he opened the door, but the word died on his throat as he saw who stood before him, holding the heart of a hybrid in either hand that clunked gracelessly to the ground.

"Good morning," the voice hit him like a dagger a second before fingers curled over his throat, "_Brother_."

**KB**

Klaus had been uncharacteristically quiet.

Bonnie had expected him to lash out by now – had expected some sort of revenge or retaliation for what he must see as a great betrayal. Even more, she had _felt_ something. Even with her connection to the Earth dimming with her faded powers (she could give Damon a brutal headache, but nothing crippling yet – and yes, she enjoyed using him as her guinea pig), Bonnie could _sense_ that there was something just on the edge of her consciousness, seeking her out. Like a word on the tip of her tongue, or a dream she had almost forgotten, that she was struggling to recall.

Damon watched Bonnie make a tentative stride across the Gilbert kitchen to perch on the counter as they awaited the arrival of their fearless (emotionless) brooding leader. She still trembled at times, but she was making a quick recovery despite her refusal of vampire's blood. Caroline, who was under the impression that Bonnie had been in an accident while visiting her father, had offered her a wrist but Bonnie refused.

_Werewolfs are connected to the Earth_, Klaus had told her. They would make her stronger.

"Will Tyler be joining us?" She had asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"He's out of town," Caroline had said with a shrug, "He doesn't want to be involved in too much of this supernatural stuff anyway."

"Ditto." Bonnie had frowned.

"A bit late for that," Damon had quipped, coming up behind them.

Then Stefan entered, his face a grim line, with Elena following quickly behind.

"So," Damon cleared his throat, "Why exactly is the Justice League meeting today?"

"Because of this," Elena offered, placing a piece of paper delicately on the table.

"What is it?" Bonnie asked, though she made no move forward to inspect it.

"It's our next opportunity for an attack." Stefan said.

"It's an invite to a ball at Klaus' new mansion." Elena said, "A welcoming party for the _Mikaelsons_."

"Plural?" Damon's face broke into a grin, "As in, more than one?"

"Why are you smiling?" Caroline said, crossing her arms. "One Klaus is bad enough."

"Elijah's back," Damon said mischievously. "I un-staked him."

Bonnie couldn't help the dry laugh that escaped her throat. "Don't count on Elijah staying mad for long."

"It's not just Elijah," Stefan said ominously, flipping over the party invite.

Damon's smile fell from his face.

Caroline's brows perked up in surprise.

Stefan glanced at Bonnie and she slid from her perch on the counter to step forward.

"Guess we know what was in that coffin now," Caroline said as Bonnie read the note. A request to meet Elena personally. From _Esther_.

"Well if Elijah forgives Klaus for staking him," Bonnie said, "He won't feel the same about Klaus killing his mom."

"I have a feeling mommy dearest is the type to hold a grudge," Damon pointed out.

"She might kill him for us." Caroline chirped.

"One can only hope," Elena said, stealing a glance at Bonnie. No doubt she thought this would save her best friend from being sacrificed again.

"The only question is, what does she want with Elena?" Bonnie frowned. Last she checked, Esther wanted Elena dead as a way to prevent the hybrids from being created. Now that the vial existed, Esther had no reason for Elena to die... unless Damon was right, and she did hold a grudge.

"We're going to the ball." The Salvatores decided before breaking into a brief, subtle argument about who would be Elena's plus-one.

With Elijah, Esther and the Salvatores against him, surely Klaus would die.

_Klaus would die_.

So, why was the thought making her more sad than angry?

Frustrated with herself, Bonnie set the invite on fire and left the room to the sound of Elena's gasp and Damon's laughter.

**KB**

"The least you could do is pretend to be happy," Rebekah taunted him from her perch on the grand piano. Klaus sat brooding on the corner of one couch while Kol lay reclining on another trying to figure out an iPod. Elijah was still not talking to him, still "processing" what was happening. And Finn – well, Finn was out discovering paved roads, women in pants and indoor plumbing.

"We didn't leave," Rebekah continued when Klaus said nothing.

After Elijah had cornered him in the house, having killed and fucking _fed on_ two of his hybrids (seriously, considering they were like his children, it was almost incestuous), Klaus had been forced to return with him to the mansion where he found the rest of his family feeding leisurely on choice Mystic Falls residents. Well, except for Finn, who had remained sitting up in his coffin as if upset that he had been awoken at all.

That is, until Rebekah broke the news. _He killed our mother_, she had said, her lip curling.

They attacked him. Elijah threw him across the room. Kol delivered a well-timed kick to his stomach and punch to his face. Though he would heal quickly, he felt it all. But Klaus struggled not to flinch.

He didn't fight back.

He had retreated into his mind, distancing himself from the situation, wondering for a moment – why didn't he die at Bonnie's hands, before they knew the truth? While he was still beloved?

But though they beat him, they couldn't kill them.

Elijah was the one to bring it to an end. He held out a hand and they retreated.

"We will leave," Rebekah had declared, clearly voicing a choice they had previously made. "And you will never see any of us again." She had sneered as she looked at him. "Family," she spat, "The one thing you always wanted, you have now forever lost."

Klaus didn't stop them.

They returned to their glowing, immortal selves and dressed quickly in modern versions of their favorite attire. Only Finn's eyes were not hardened with hatred when they took a final look at Klaus who would soon be alone in a big, empty mansion he had built for them – and that's only because Finn's eyes had dulled long ago.

As they prepared to make their exit, Esther appeared.

"Family," she had said, "The one thing we have all awaited, we will all now have. Forever."

She had opened her arms to her children, and they gaped in astonishment.

"How..."

"The witches' power has kept me hovering between this side and the other, preserving my body in anticipation of my return," Esther smiled at her children, "our reunion."

"The fifth coffin..."

"Opened inexplicably," Esther said, "They must have sensed that the time was right for us to be together. And they were correct, as you were all about to abandon the only thing in this long life that you are guaranteed of and blessed with – each other."

In the silence, Rebekah's gasp was an echo.

Finn's eyes sparked for the first time since he turned.

Elijah and Kol, for once, were speechless.

It was only then, when she turned her eyes to Klaus, that his passive mask fell. What was it about his mother and the way she looked at him that made him, despite his centuries of life, feel like he was fifteen again? The way he felt when he first began to truly, sincerely suspect that there was something _different_ about the way his father treated him and the way his mother understood him and his existence: not as her son and family – but as her greatest mistake.

"Do you know why I have come?" Esther said, approaching him.

Klaus swallowed under her gaze and felt himself shrinking into himself.

_And this is where it all began_, he thought. He wasn't in denial. A thousand years had made him relatively self aware. He craved approval – from his mother who lied to him, his father who denied him, his siblings whose loyalty he would do anything for, his family that refused him no matter what he did to reconstruct their lives together. But he never got it, and there was only one reasonable conclusion to be drawn: Klaus was unloveable.

And now, with his siblings lined up with loathing behind the creature who had created and planned to destroy him, it had never been more clear.

"To kill me," he said, not bothering to hide the emotion that shook his voice.

Klaus was unloveable by anyone but the four hybrids he had created so far, and already 50% of them were extinct.

_Except_, he thought with a renewed spark, there was _Bonnie_.

And she truly had few reasons to feel anything for him but loathing.

If his mother's hatred of him, his family's distrust and despising of him – their willingness to throw away all that he had built for them – had given him those few stolen, honest moments with the Bennett witch, maybe it was ok.

Not _worth it_ – because how could a few physical comforts reverse centuries of running, hiding, hating himself, stabbing his siblings and being, in every sense of the word, alone?

But, maybe it was ok.

"No," Esther smiled, reaching out to take Klaus's hand. Then, he did flinch.

"I have come," she said, tilting her head in that maternal way that she hadn't done since he was a small boy, "To forgive you."

Forgiveness. Well, it wasn't _love_. But it was close enough. Klaus relaxed under her gaze.

"To make our home a home again," she continued, turning to face the others.

"Mystic Falls?" Elijah spoke at last.

"Yes," Esther nodded at them all. "Mystic Falls has always been our home, and it's time we returned to how we were."

"So," Rebekah said, shifting his gaze from Elijah to Esther, "We are staying?"

"We are more than staying," Esther smiled at her daughter, and Rebekah's face broke out into her sweet, girlish grin, "We are throwing a welcoming party."

Esther cast her gaze across the room again, "_All_ are invited – enemies and friends," she said before adding with a touch of warning, "and all will be safe."

"Peace," Finn said, in understanding.

"Leave it to me," Klaus said, perhaps a bit too quickly. But all were too entranced with the return of Esther to recall their anger at him – at a deed that had apparently been undone.

_Leave it to me_, Klaus had said, slowly retreating from the room to plan his next steps.

Now he sat in the living room with his siblings, having gone from expecting his death, to sending out invitations.

"Now that she's back," Klaus turned to Rebekah now with faux-sweetness, "perhaps you can let that go."

"Perhaps," Rebekah said, fingering the invitations on the table. "You know," she said, getting lost in her own thoughts, "I never got to go to that dance."

"There will be more school dances," Klaus said, patting his sister's hand. "In the next hundred years alone."

"I meant," Rebekah said, retracting her hand, "That perhaps I will bring a date."

Klaus arched an eyebrow. "Stefan?"

"No," Rebekah's visage darkened. "Someone a bit more... wholesome."

"Why would you want a date," Kol suddenly chirped in, "When all of Mystic Falls will be on parade before you. Why tie yourself down so early?"

"I've already seen who's who in Mystic Falls," Rebekah reminded him, "And my tastes are not nearly so... forgiving as yours."

"Are you saying I have low standards?"

"I'm saying you're a slut."

Kol coughed his indignation. "I see the judgmental ways of this world have not changed much."

"It's not the world," Rebekah said, "It's you."

"I'm mischievous and charming," Kol dismissed her with a deviant smile. "Ask Mary."

Rebekah rolled her eyes at the mention of her old friend who Kol had seduced. "I would, if she had not been dead for over five centuries."

"Five centuries?" Kol balked. "It has been far too long." He flashed a charming smile at his sister, "Perhaps you can tell me who this century's belle of the ball will be?"

Rebekah smiled back at Kol. "Well," she began, "Her name is Elena. And you will not believe your eyes when you see her..."

As Rebekah continued to set their brother up for failure, Klaus retreated into his plan. His mother had written the invitations out in her delicate hand, with information from Klaus and Elijah on who absolutely must be invited.

"We must extend invitations to the most powerful," Esther had said, "Our potential allies."

Of course, Elijah had insisted that _Bonnie Bennett_ be invited, all the while keeping an eye on his scowling brother.

Of course, Klaus could not allow that invitation to be delivered. Bonnie had left him and made no attempt to resume communication since. She could very well be plotting his demise this moment. Besides, if there was anything he knew about the witch, it was that the only way he could get from her the kind of attention he needed – nay, _deserved_ – did not lay in niceties and tuxedos.

No, it lay in antagonism.

And what better place to start than playing on her insecurities and fears by inexplicably shifting his attentions to her beautiful, vampire friend?

**KB**

Klaus left Bonnie a present on her porch. He was reclined on her porch steps, his eyes scanning the area every so often. When her car pulled up, he stood up with legs wide and shoulders straight, as if he were standing at attention.

"Tyler," Bonnie smiled, approaching her friend. Happy to see Tyler, and happy to get an energy boost from his werewolf status, she approached "Caroline said you were out of town."

"That's what I told her," Tyler nodded in affirmation.

Bonnie's pace slowed as she neared him. Something was wrong. His eyes scanned their surroundings again, and his face was set in a serious line – not the usual teasing, taunting smile that the Lockwood men were known for.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked, stepping closer slowly. She reached out a hand to rest on his shoulder and that's when she saw it.

The blackness hit her so suddenly that it left her head reeling. It came with the echo of a cracking neck, the metallic aftertaste of blood. And Klaus's eyes.

"No," Bonnie breathed, shaking her head. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she felt them slipping down her cheeks uncontrollably. "No!" She shook Tyler, "Why? Why would he do this?"

"You know," Tyler said, his lips breaking into a smile then. He sounded so proud when he continued that it made Bonnie nauseated. "Klaus said you would."

"No," Bonnie shook her head as if if she said it enough – chanted it like a spell – everything would reverse and go back to how it used to be. The word tumbled from her lips over and over again until it sounded strange to even her.

"Bonnie," Tyler's brow furrowed. "Don't be upset."

"You..." the words caught and died in her throat. She took a step away as he approached her.

"I won't hurt you," Tyler said, raising his hands in defeat.

"I should have killed him," Bonnie said, "This is my fault. I shouldn't have given him the vial," the words fell over each other in between gasps for breath, "_I_ did this to you."

Klaus' voice hit her suddenly like a punch in the gut – _werewolf and vampire cancel each other out_.

He had turned Tyler into a vampire – _no, into a damn hybrid! _– just to get back at her. He killed her friend just to destroy the only energy source in her group. Bonnie's eyes welled up with frustrated tears.

"This is my fault!"

"Klaus did it," Tyler said calmly, as if he didn't understand her, "He saved me."

"Saved you?" Bonnie was the one confused now.

"I don't have to change," Tyler said with a grin, "I'm stronger, faster, I can't die. I'm going to be with Caroline forever."

"Tyler," Bonnie shook her head, "You're a vampire. You're not supposed to be a vampire!"

"I wasn't supposed to be a werewolf," Tyler said. "Now I'm free."

"What-why," Bonnie sputtered.

"It's ok," Tyler assured her, reaching out to wipe the tears from her face. "I will tell Caroline. If that's what you're concerned about."

Part of Bonnie wished he had gone to Caroline before coming to her. _Why_ would he come to her first? There was only one answer to that. Klaus.

"You should go, then," Bonnie said, feeling for her cell phone in her pocket to warn her friend.

"I will," Tyler said, dropping has hands and resuming his at-attention stance. "After you are safe at home. And I will be back in the morning to take you to school."

"What?" Bonnie took a step away from Tyler, closer to her house. "Why?"

"Because," Tyler said, like it was obvious. "It's the least I can do."

"The least you can do," Bonnie said, a chill shooting down her spine, "For whom?"

"Klaus," he said, like it was obvious.

_Klaus_.

**KB**

_There's something wrong with Tyler._

Caroline's words seemed to resound through the cafeteria although her hushed voice was barely audible. Bonnie felt a familiar chill spike through her as she heard the words. Everyone had accepted quickly what Klaus had done, and Stefan had eyed the young hybrid with suspicion and tended to keep a wide berth. No one questioned Bonnie or suspected that the transformation had anything to do with her.

And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that it Klaus was sending her a message she didn't want to receive. It didn't help that Tyler seemed to be beside her every waking moment that Caroline was not around. When she woke in the morning, he was waiting outside her house to take her to school. He drove her home and didn't head off until she was securely inside. Even then, she was certain he drove in circles around her perimeter.

She felt like she was being circled by a shark.

She couldn't speak to Stefan to or go to the Grille without risking Tyler tagging along (and possibly, Caroline). She didn't want Elena to know of the extent of her... _ordeal_ with Klaus. Especially after she had regularly given her side eye for the enamored glances she exchanged with eternal deviant Damon Salvatore. She didn't want Caroline to know that she had even been under Klaus' thumb – she liked the lie that she had been away visiting family. For once, she was lucky that with the problems that kept cropping up, that Caroline hadn't asked her more about the boy she had spoken to her of weeks before or asked for more details about her trip away.

But with Tyler around, Bonnie's decision to keep everything under wraps just got harder and harder. She really couldn't talk to anyone about anything without it getting back to Klaus until he had retreated to Caroline's and she could take out her cell phone and call Stefan, out of range of his hybrid hearing.

"Things will be different for a while," Elena reminded her friend gently, "Think of how it was for you when you turned."

"It's not the same," Caroline insisted, glancing across the room for the familiar head of blonde, curly hair that had been showing up sporadically to social events (but not to classes). When she assured herself that Rebekah was not at school, she continued. "Every time Klaus is mentioned, he gets really defensive. He keeps talking about how Klaus _saved_ him. Klaus! As if they're best friends or something." She frowned, turning to Bonnie, "It's scaring me."

"Has he hurt you?" Bonnie asked.

"He would never," Caroline shook her head. "But I worry for him. And," she sighed, "I'm not sure I can trust him."

"Give it time," Elena said, and Bonnie wondered if she was thinking of her own former beau when she said that.

And, as if on cue, the younger Salvatore arrived with his recent Ripper swagger. He pulled up a chair, turned it backwards, and leaned forward, staring at the three ladies whose conversation had stilted.

"Don't stop on my account," Stefan said, "I could follow the conversation from across the room. Tyler. Hybrid. Got it. Continue."

Elena shifted awkwardly and Bonnie exchanged a glance with Caroline, unsure if her friend wanted to disclose the situation to Stefan. He wasn't the same guy who had taught her to hunt and survive her turning – there was still something fragile about their friendship that showed itself in how she cast her eyes away as if in thought.

"He's probably sired," Stefan said, when the girls said nothing and all eyes were on his again. Though he didn't show it, Bonnie knew that he was most affected by the brown eyes that found his.

_When you have something that alleviates the loneliness_, he had told her in the throes of his blodd-detox. And it seemed true: with Elena's eyes on his, he volunteered more information than she expected, as if being in her presence alone could sooth his spirit.

"Tyler is completely loyal to the person who turned him."

Caroline snorted. "I am _not_ loyal to one Damon Salvatore."

"It stems from his gratitude to being freed from the pain of the transformation. Your turning," Stefan said, and Bonnie almost winced at the memory, "had nothing to do with escaping pain."

Caroline frowned, her shoulders slumping. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll figure it out," Elena assured her.

"Maybe it's like compulsion," Bonnie said, "and he'll be free from it when Klaus dies. Or when he wants it to be over."

"Has anyone ever broken a sire bond?" Caroline said, her eyes turning hopefully to Stefan.

He opened his mouth, perhaps about to crush her hope, when Elena's eyes also turned to his and the words died before he spoke them. Instead he hunched his shoulders and let out a breath, "I can look into it."

"It'll be okay," Elena said again, taking Caroline's hand and squeezing.

"You're basically saying I'm dating mini-Klaus," Caroline snapped. "How is it going to be okay?"

"You just," Elena took a deep breath, "Have to believe it. It's the only thing that will get you through, when you love someone."

Stefan and Elena exchanged a look then, and Bonnie deliberately averted her eyes. She felt like she was intruding on something personal, some private exchange not meant for other's eyes. But as quickly as it began, it was over. If it weren't for the small smile that seemed to itch to be free at the corner of Stefan's mouth, she would have thought it hadn't happened at all.

Bonnie took a sip of coffee to hid her own smile.

"You're right," Caroline said, her mind elsewhere. She set her lips into a determined line and sang out like she was leading cheerleading practice: "There's no point in worrying over what you can't control. We just need a game plan."

"Is there anything you can do about it?" Elena asked, turning to Bonnie.

"I don't know," Bonnie said, deliberately ignoring Elena's reference to her magic. When she tried to avert her eyes, she met Stefan's knowing gaze and they nodded in unison when she said: "But I can try."


	12. The Wolf, the Witch and the Wardrobe

**AN: I hope the story is not moving forward too quickly! I just had a few plot points to cover with little KB interaction that I wanted to do quickly so we could get to the good stuff (KB!). 3 **

_**The Wolf, the Witch and the Wardrobe**_

_What happened with Klaus?_, Stefan had asked Bonnie when they were alone, when a few days had passed – enough time in their fast-paced world to move on from tragedy and trauma.

_I don't know_, Bonnie admitted. _The witches' conduit to this world—_

_No_, Stefan clarified, his voice curt and short. _During your time there, what happened?_

_I did a few spells_, Bonnie ventured shortly, _A boundary potion tied to water, a resistance spell tied to a necklace..._

_Between you_, Stefan insisted, _what happened?_

_I don't know_, Bonnie said again, shaking her head. _I want to say nothing, but... Being on the verge of death, it... changes you._

_I know_, Stefan said after a while, his eyes glazing over like he was remembering his own moments just before the dawn. _You do things you regret._

_Yes,_ Bonnie agreed excitedly. _Stupid things._

_That doesn't mean that they never happened_, Stefan warned her. _That doesn't mean you can forget them – that they don't change you in ways you can't undo_.

A chill flew through both of them.

_He has feelings for you, Bonnie_, Stefan said. _That's a dangerous position to be in._

_Danger isn't what I'm worried about_, Bonnie said in a rushed breath. _It's... reciprocation._

As the only one who knew Klaus's conflicting intentions towards her, Bonnie took Stefan's final warning very seriously: _Be careful, Bon._

_Be careful_.

Something had changed in those few honest, desperate moments before death. Something had changed when Klaus cheated their deaths – stole peace and victory from her – in how she saw him, how she saw the world, how she understood herself.

Though she didn't understand the change entirely, she knew that there was something about her that was different. Something that appreciated the furrows in Stefan's brow as he stared at Elena across the room like something lost that he could not reach. Something that understood, for the first time, the tinge of anger in Damon's voice when he was chastised for loving someone he shouldn't.

Something had changed in Bonnie that was more than just her weak magic slowly returning, or her connection to the Earth rebuilding itself, or her getting used to being in a body with 1% of the power she had before. And whatever that something was, Bonnie knew it couldn't good.

She had to stamp it out. She had to trample it like a fire that threatened to combust with any change in the wind. She had to _be careful_, just as Stefan said – not just with Klaus, but with herself.

**KB**

Bonnie entered the Grille with Stefan by her side.

"We're in and out," Stefan said gruffly, his hand on the small of her back guiding her into the room filled with people. The sound of dozens of heart beats was still off-putting and he knew that his trigger was hair-thin between Stefan Salvatore and The Ripper.

"Don't worry," Bonnie said, "I have no intention of lingering longer than necessary."

And yet, the second she saw him – reclining against the bar beside a younger man with disheveled brown hair – she felt the truth of her words die on her tongue. He had a drink in hand with ice cubes that clinked together as he perused the clientele and shared a quiet word with the man beside him. The other man must have said something funny because Klaus laughed, his almost-red lips falling into an easy smile.

_He's alive_, Bonnie thought redundantly. Of course he was alive, genius. He's immortal.

Yet, seeing him for the first time in over a week laughing and being devastatingly handsome, made her release a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She was ashamed to admit the confirmation of his existence was a welcome one.

And then Klaus glanced to the entrance, and saw her.

The laugh died on his lips, and he hit the man beside him lightly in the chest with the back of the hand that held his drink, in an attempt to silence him.

_Bonnie's ok_, he thought. Yes, he had received official confirmation from his latest hybrid, Tyler, who he had since entrusted to update him with anything that threatened Bonnie's well-being. But seeing her before him, thumbs hooked in skinny jeans, an oversized cotton coral dress shirt skimming her thighs and concealing her figure – he couldn't help the small smile that spread slowly across his face. Her emerald eyes were wide as they looked at him and, if he focused beyond the music and the dozens of people chattering in the bar, he could hear her hummingbird heart.

"Bonnie," Klaus's mouth almost caressed the word like a prayer as he continued to stare at her intently. He watched Stefan nudge her and they moved forward.

"The witch?" Kol whispered, pretending to check out another pretty girl in the corner of the room.

"Yes," Klaus said.

"Looks like a tasty morsel," Kol smiled, talking about Bonnie but nodding at the girl in the corner.

"Keep your fangs to yourself."

Kol turned to his brother at last to offer a wry smile, and was startled at the intensity in his eyes. Glancing at the witch dead on, he realized that she carried the same determined, uncompromising look. The same heated stare.

"Klaus," Stefan said as they approached, sliding his hands into his pockets to appear nonchalant.

"Ripper," Klaus raised his glass to them. "It's been a while."

"Not long enough," Stefan said.

"I was talking," Klaus turned his eyes to Bonnie hungrily, enjoying the way she was forced to peer up at him due to their height difference, "To Bonnie."

"No long enough," Bonnie repeated, but there was something teasing about the way she said it that had Klaus smirking. With her chin tilted up and lip jutting out, he felt a rush that made his head swim with thoughts of capturing her pout in his own lips.

He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, "You're looking simply delectable, as usual."

"And you," Bonnie nodded, "look demented."

"I'm Kol," the other man interjected, extending his hand to the young witch. He raised Bonnie's fingers to his lips without breaking eye contact, "Klaus's younger, better looking brother."

"Let's skip the introductions," Bonnie pulled her hand away. "I'm sure you already know who I am."

"Can't believe everything you hear, love. Why don't you fill me in?" Kol teased.

"I I know exactly who you are," Klaus pinned her with those knowing eyes, as if that _knowing_ extended far beyond her name, "and I'm the only one who matters."

Bonnie scoffed. "To who?"

Klaus leaned forward. "To you." A smile.

Bonnie took a step back. "Last I saw, I was about to kill you and light you up like the fourth of July."

"I will always be one step ahead of you," Klaus promised ominously.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance," Bonnie put her hands on her hips.

"Ditto."

"You're going to regret letting me walk out of there," she tried again.

Something in his eyes softened. They shifted back and forth, as if studying hers. Bonnie felt her cheeks heat as she almost heard his thoughts: _I already do._

"We're not here to chat," Stefan crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Stefan," Klaus said, signalling the bar tender. "Have a _drink."_ He spread his arms to motion to all the people in the Grille. "Your choice."

"Be warned," Kol said with mock gravitas, swishing his glass, "The rum is substandard." He smiled predatorily at the witch and was pleased when Klaus seemed to stiffen in response, "Compared to other, richer delicacies."

"We didn't come here to drink," Bonnie said dismissively, turning momentarily to narrow her eyes at Kol, "Or be tapped like some kind of witchy holy grail." Her lip curled in disgust. "You'd think a thousand years would teach you subtlety."

"Then," Klaus challenged, "Why are you here, at the local watering hole, if not for drink or quick bite?"

"To speak to you," Bonnie said, mimicking Stefan's stance. "In private."

"Well," Klaus said, motioning to the area with the pool table, "After you."

Stefan leaned against the bar where Klaus had been standing, watching the odd couple take their place at the pool table. Klaus compelled – or threatened – the kids who were playing away, and picked up the abandoned cue stick to continue their game. Stefan kept his eyes on them as Kol let out an audible sigh.

"Klaus," Kol said before taking a sip, "Is always tempting destruction."

Then he turned to Stefan with a grin: "So," he drawled, "Rebekah's ex, hmm?"

"Not here to make friends," Stefan said without looking at the young Original. "Baby Klaus."

"Don't be testy," Kol said. "Welcome me back to the neighborhood. Tell me about the brunette in the corner."

"She's sixteen. She doesn't have her driver's license. She has two loving parents and a little brother," Stefan said, "She is not your afternoon snack."

Kol frowned. "First, you're no fun when you're not tearing things – I mean, people – apart."

Stefan's jaw ticked.

"Second, what I really want to know is," Kol said, "is that Elena? I've heard she is like nothing I've ever seen before."

Stefan turned to him with a raised brow and smirk, but didn't respond.

Across the room, Klaus intentionally missed an easy shot to walk up behind Bonnie and graze her arm with his. He leaned against the table, facing her, focusing on her averted eyes. Bonnie was turned towards the game, but her mind was on the task at hand.

"Your move," he said lowly against her ear, his deep voice reverberating in Bonnie's head in a way she knew it shouldn't.

She cleared her throat to clear her mind. "Why did you go after Tyler?"

Her voice was calm and measured. Klaus straightened at the hint of anger simmering just beneath the surface. "That's not the reaction I anticipated."

"What were you expecting?" Bonnie turned to him now, and was surprised to find herself so close to him. She glared up at him, refusing to appear weak by stepping back. "You _killed_ him."

"I gave him a gift," Klaus said, his lips pulling into a tight line. His jaw clenched, and she could see the anger clouding behind his eyes. "Eternity. What is there to be upset about?"

"He was human," Bonnie said, struggling to keep her voice from becoming shrill. "He had a life!"

"He was a werewolf," Klaus corrected.

"Werewolves are human 29 days a month," Bonnie sneered.

Klaus dismissed her with the wave of his hand, "He's not dead. You have no reason to be this upset," He frowned, turning to her with renewed interest. "_Unless_ he is more than just a friend."

"Green isn't your colour," Bonnie scoffed. "Stop hurting people I love."

"So self centred," Klaus chastised, turning back to the pool table and taking Bonnie's shot for her. "What makes you think my arrangement with Tyler had anything to do with you?"

"He's a werewolf," Bonnie said, lowering her voice, "Being around him would have helped me recuperate. You obviously did not want me getting a recharge from anyone," she nudged him as he took his shot, "but you."

Klaus genuinely laughed, rubbing the back of his head as he looked at her with boyish charm. "I'm flattered that you think me so devious."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him. "Why else would you do that to Tyler?"

"You're right, he doesn't deserve such an honor," Klaus said darkly, dropping his hand, "but he will."

"What about the sire bond?" Bonnie pushed, and she didn't miss Klaus still at the mention of it. "At least release him from that."

"And why should I?" Klaus turned to the young witch. "He is grateful to me. Unerringly loyal. Why would I want to destroy the one thing I can trust and rely on," he glared at her meaningfully: "when everyone else betrays me."

"You knew exactly what I was doing there." Bonnie said.

"You betrayed me," Klaus reached out and ran a hand down the edge of her jaw. When she reached up to smack his hand away, he caught it in his own and traced circles onto her palm, "And you betrayed your own feelings."

Bonnie colored and he let her take her hand back. "I was delirious with pain," she said in rushed quiet, "I thought I was dying. I can't be held responsible for what I said."

Klaus's eyes stared purposefully at her lips that she only then realized she was biting. She released her lower lip, and he licked his own in response. "Or for what you did?"

"Stop it." Bonnie said, turning from him and taking two steps away. "We're talking about Tyler. Release him."

"It can't be done," Klaus said with a shrug as he leaned over to take another shot. "Tyler's feelings cannot be turned off anymore than yours can."

"I don't have any feelings for you," Bonnie clarified angrily, "but loathing. I detest you."

Klaus didn't shift his position on the table, but she could sense his anger from how his body stiffened. Then he shook his head and lined up his shot.

Smiling, she tilted her head and added: "I heard mom's back in town."

Klaus missed his shot.

"I'm sure her _feelings_ for you are pretty identical to mine."

"What an Oedipal perspective," Klaus sneered, straightening up so they stood arm to arm, facing opposite directions. Bonnie leaned almost casually against the table. If he reached out a bit, he could graze those slender fingers with his.

"What do you want from me?" Bonnie's smile disappeared, "You didn't kill me; you won't leave me in peace."

"I want for you exactly what you want for you," Klaus stopped just in front of her. "Happiness."

"Happiness would be you and your family leaving town and never coming back," Bonnie offered a tight smile.

"Happiness," Klaus said, as if she hadn't spoken, reaching out to cradle her face in his hand. Bonnie shifted a bit, but didn't move away, and it was an odd but welcome balm to his spirit to see her green eyes blink up at him as if invested in what he would say. "Happiness," he repeated, running his finger against her jaw bone as his eyes glazed over slightly, remembering heated moments of skin-against-skin, "would be to give in to me."

Bonnie's expression hardened as he leaned forward to tuck another strand of hair behind her ear. He slid his thumb over her ear lobe gently and she struggled to keep her eyes from closing in pleasure. How could she hate and want someone so much at once?

"Do you remember?" Klaus asked, his lips skimming Bonnie's ear as he leaned forward, "We are at the site," he licked his lips, "of our first kiss."

Bonnie turned her face away from him, but didn't step out of his grasp.

"I would take care of you," Klaus said, trailing his hand down her neck and up and again, "You would not want for anything. As many countries as you wish to see, as many days as you wish to live," Klaus' hand found her lips now, and he caught the sigh that escaped her lips before she choked it back, "All you have to do, is say yes."

"All I have to do," Bonnie said, reaching up to clasp his hand in her own and remove it from her face, "Is abandon everything I believe him."

"Abandon these people who don't care if you live or die," Klaus said, gesturing towards Stefan and the inhabitants of the Grille, "For exactly what you want. An easy decision."

"You're right," Bonnie said, "It is an easy decision. Easy for me to say no."

Klaus frowned. "Bonnie, you didn't really come here to talk about Tyler."

"Yes," Bonnie nodded, "I did."

"Looking like this," Klaus said with a smile, "You came here," he nudged her chin up with a finger, "for me."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and turned away. "I came here to protect the people I care about."

"I did it," Klaus said through gritted teeth, "for the same reason. Or did you forget our conversation a few nights ago?"

"How does turning Tyler protect me?" Bonnie said, her voice rushed and low.

Klaus responded deliberately loud. "He will ensure your safety when I cannot."

"You did this to him," Bonnie's eyes welled up with angry tears; the guilt of the situation fully hitting her, "Just to give me a babysitter?" She shook her head, focusing on her anger instead of her pain. "You're so," she breathed out slowly, feeling her power suddenly returning and pooling in her palms, "_Selfish_."

"I am," Klaus said, his eyes as heated as hers as he stared at her. He reached for her chin again, and this time, when he swiped his thumb over her bottom lip, it was with an utterly possessive intent.

"Are you saying there is no way to break the sire bond?" Bonnie said, her fists clenching at her sides.

"There is nothing I can do," Klaus said.

"Are you saying you're not leaving town?"

"Quite the contrary, I intend to stay here as long as I please."

"And you acknowledge," Bonnie said slowly as if she was speaking to an idiot, knowing that it would upset him, "That I will try to kill you as long as we both shall live?"

"A vow I happily accept, love."

"You're a fool," Bonnie spat, though part of her wanted to laugh.

"I let you live," Klaus reminded her.

"You traded me for coffins."

"I would have let you live without them," Klaus assured her. "I just would not have let you go."

"Again," Bonnie gritted her teeth, "You're a fool."

"Perhaps," Klaus said, letting his hand drop at last from her face. "But I'm a patient fool. I have many years to wait. And in the end, I always get what I want." Something flashed in his eyes. "No matter what the cost."

"Are you trying to scare me into submission?" Bonnie scoffed.

"What you fear is entirely in your control."

"Klaus," Bonnie said, proud of the firmness of her voice, "I am not some scared, powerless girl," she shoved him back and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "I'm a Bennett witch. I'm going to be the end of you. _You_ are the one who should be afraid."

Without breaking eye contact as Klaus clenched his teeth, Bonnie sank all the balls on the pool table but the cue and eight ball.

"Look at that," she said, pushing off of the pool table, "I think I just won."

Bonnie turned on her heel and headed towards the exit, pausing shortly to glance at Stefan to let him know she was ready to leave.

"Did you get what you came for?" Stefan asked when he reached her, placing a hand on the small of her back to guide her out of the room.

Bonnie glanced over her shoulder a shared a final, meaningful look with Klaus as he raised a glass to her at the bar.

_You came here for me_, he had said with that knowing glint in his eye. He was right. Part of her had come here for him, and he had seen right through it – he was charging her up. His connection with the Earth was working at record speed, providing her with power to do more than she had in the days since the witches left her. She had come here for him, and she was ashamed to admit she used her enemy like that – even more ashamed that he knew – and even more, ashamed that he took such pleasure in being her personal battery.

Klaus took a sip without breaking eye contact until she turned away and left the Grille.

"Maybe I'll see you at the ball, Miss Bennett," Kol called out, a cheeky smile on his face titling up at one end. She lit his sleeve on fire.

Klaus' visage clouded as he watched her go.

_Not afraid_? He would show Miss Bennett exactly who _she_ was dealing with, exactly what kind of strings _he _could pull – and exactly what _jealousy_ really and truly was.

Perhaps there was a way to pique her interest and ensure her appearance at the ball, after all – and it didn't lay in fancy invitation with perfect calligraphy.

All's fair in love and war, they say. So, when love _is _war? Anything goes.

**KB**

Tyler bit Caroline.

With tears in her eyes, she accused him of betraying her – of choosing a murderer like Klaus over her, the girl who had always been there for him. She loved him, she said. She ached from it. She asked him to leave, and he did, promising to break the sire bond.

But still, she couldn't tell what hurt more: the pulsating wound on her neck, or the heavy, crushing sensation where her heart used to beat.

She was contemplating her life, and her death, when a knock sounded at the front door. Thinking it might be Tyler, she forced herself out of bed to the door.

"I am not here to hurt you," Klaus assured Caroline when she swung the door open. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You killed my boyfriend," Caroline said.

"I gave him eternal life," Klaus clarified. "This is far better than watching him age and die before you. Trust me."

"You made him _bite _me!" Caroline sneered.

"But not with lethal intent," Klaus reminded her, raising his wrist, "as the antidote is right here."

"Why should I trust you?" Caroline spat, "You want to kill me."

"If I wanted to kill you," Klaus assured her with a charming smile, "I would have."

Caroline was silent for a while as she looked over the handsome hybrid before her. There was something different about him. He seemed less the sniveling weasel he had been when he turned Jenna and killed indiscriminately. He was right. If he wanted to kill her, he would have. There must be something else here, he must be up to something...

"What's your ulterior motive?" Caroline said, putting her hands on her hips, ignoring the pain of the bite on her neck.

Klaus smiled slyly, as if he had been waiting for that question, and said: "Love."

**KB**

Bonnie's invitation to the ball never came.

But Caroline's did.

"A dress, can you believe it?" Caroline said into the phone to her best friend. Although her words seemed annoyed, there was a hint of flattery in it.

"Why would Klaus send you a dress?" Bonnie frowned. "Didn't he try to kill you yesterday?"

"I think he just wanted to scare me," Caroline said, and Bonnie could hear the ruffling of the skirts of the dress on the other side of the phone, "Not actually kill me."

"What a sad world we live in, that a guy not trying to kill you is a point in his favor," Bonnie said, annoyed at herself for the irritation she inexplicably felt.

"If you think I'm going to fall for _Klaus_," Caroline said like it was the most absurd thing she had ever heard, "who makes _Damon_ look like a puppy, you're insane." Caroline started enumerating his faults, and Bonnie flinched at each one: "He turned Tyler. He tried to kill Elena. He killed Jenna. He ruined Stefan. He stabs his family in the heart, quite literally, whenever they piss him off. These qualities do not a good boyfriend make."

"You've put a lot of thought into this."

Caroline laughed, "Don't worry. I'm not going to the dark side. I just like the dress."

"You're not going to wear it, are you?" Bonnie balked. She could just imagine the Cheshire smile Klaus will be wearing that night. A beautiful woman in the dress he picked out at his ball, playing right into his plan... but what could that plan be? Because he wouldn't just drop Bonnie for Caroline... would he?

"I don't know," Caroline said, honestly with a dreamy sigh, "I have nothing else to wear. Nothing that compares, that's for sure."

"I wonder how he knew your dress size..." Bonnie muttered.

Caroline snickered, "Guess all men are alike after all."

_Guess so_, Bonnie frowned. _Matt, Tyler, Damon, Klaus_...

"That's not all, though," Caroline said.

"Let me guess, a personalized invitation?"

"Well, there's that," Caroline said, and Bonnie could almost hear her friend's cheeks heating up, "But he also sent some jewellery."

"Jewellery?" Bonnie felt her stomach drop.

"Yeah, a bracelet," Caroline said.

"Oh," Bonnie hid the relief from her voice.

"It's white gold," Caroline squealed, "Gorgeous. But I can't keep it... can I?"

"It's up to you," Bonnie said, "As long as it's not enchanted."

"I could use a night out," Caroline said, "Have you decided what you're wearing?"

"No," Bonnie said slowly, preparing to reveal that she wasn't invited when Caroline interrupted.

"Oh!" Caroline said, "I almost forgot. There was also a necklace."

"A necklace?" Bonnie said, trying to keep her voice neutral though the sinking feeling had returned.

"It's weird," Caroline scrunched her nose up, "It has a wolf on it."

"Are..." Bonnie seemed to choke on her words, "Are you going to wear it?"

"It doesn't really go with the dress..." Caroline said, and Bonnie knew she was holding it up, trying to figure out why such an inexpensive present had been included in the lot.

"Well, if you're not going to wear it..." Bonnie said awkwardly.

There was a pause where Bonnie braced herself for Caroline's response – a response that may very well force her to show her hand, force her to reveal just how twisted and strange her relationship with Klaus had become.

"Alright," Caroline said.

"I'll come by," Bonnie said before she could change her mind, "Before we go to the ball."

"Okay!" Caroline was more chipper then. "I'm going to start on my hair, and maybe we can even get dressed together? We haven't had a day together in ages!"

"Sure," Bonnie smiled, "I'll be over in a few hours, I just have to uhh, stop off at Grams' place to get an old formal dress..."

"See you soon," Caroline said, and Bonnie could almost see her friend pulling her blonde hair into an up-do of curls.

"Yup," Bonnie said as she hung up the phone, her mind already whirring, "See you."

As soon as she clicked off with Caroline, she dialed Damon's number before she could change her mind.

"Damon," Bonnie said into the phone without further greeting. "I need you to keep Elena and Caroline safe tonight. I'm about to do something very, _very_ stupid."

She glanced at her open closet and frowned.

"Oh, and I'm going to need your credit card."


	13. Prince Charred and Cinderella

**AN: Thanks for your reviews and favorites, they mean a lot! SO many characters to keep up with! I hope I'm doing them all justice, although I really just want to write more KB scenes **

_**Prince Charred and Cinder-ella**_

Klaus turned the chess pieces in his hands for the fifth time, rearranging them on the board without playing at all. It was driving Rebekah crazy.

"Will you stop it already?" She frowned. The mansion was being decorated for the evening ahead. Esther was having tea with Mrs. Lockwood in the living room, with her more noble and predictable sons – Elijah and Finn – by her side, convincing her of the harmlessness of having immortal, Original vampires in their midst.

Rebekah had been banished the minute she eyed one of the servers with hungry eyes and ran a tongue over a fang that threatened to distend. She had never been one to deny her base desires – it was one of the things she loved about Stefan, The Ripper – and, ironically, one of the things that drew her most to Matt, the honest, noble man whose gentlemanly ways would put Elijah to shame. In any case, if she had known the back room where Kol discovered videogames and Klaus brooded over a chess table would be so boring, she would have kept her eyes to herself.

"I don't see how what I am doing is any concern of yours," Klaus said simply, not taking his eyes off of the pieces.

"Come on, brother," Rebekah frowned prettily. "At least let us play a game instead of moving them around aimlessly."

"Unlike you, sister dear," Klaus corrected, "There is nothing aimless about my actions."

Rebekah scowled. Klaus shifted his gaze to his sister for the first time, and noticed the frustration in her eyes. His closest and longest companion, the one who understood and tolerated him best, he had a special, soft spot for his little sister.

"The problem with chess," Klaus cleared his voice, directing it to her though she feigned disinterest, "is that it assumes all armies are equal."

He lifted the white king and white queen, rolling them in his hands as if it would reveal some secret. The chess set was over 500 years old. Any secrets it may have had, he had long discovered. No, it was the game itself that captivated him this evening.

"Like what?" Rebekah said, crossing her arms, daring him to impress her.

"For one, it assumes that all Queens," He set the King and Queen on the board again. "are loyal to their Kings, willing to protect them across the board, no matter what the cost – that they are powerful, strategic pieces not to be lost to the other side."

"Sounds about right," Rebekah smiled.

"Not all Queens are born equal," Klaus corrected her. "Some Queens," he knocked the white queen off the table with the King, "Don't know the first thing about loyalty, about strategy, about protecting the King at all costs."

Then he turned to the other side of the table and knocked the black King off. "Other Queens, don't need a useless, immobile and vulnerable King in the first place."

"And the best Queens," setting the white King down again, he moved the black Queen forward, in front of all of the other pieces, "hide behind nothing and no one at all – and are willing to protect, not just the King, but every pawn in the land."

"You're losing your mind," Rebekah deadpanned.

Klaus smiled wrily, setting the white King and black Queen together at the center of the table.

"A King without a Queen to protect him must either raise an army to defend him," Klaus said, "Or step up to the challenge himself, when faced with such opposition."

"Queen _or _King, you sexist pig," Rebekah said, "Any threat to their nation would have to be destroyed. Luckily," she continued, not giving Klaus a chance to interject, "Your nation is small, made up only of the Mikaelsons. You don't need a Queen anymore than Finn needs a conscience," Rebekah said.

"My nation is small," Klaus agreed, setting the pieces down in their Original positions and turning to Rebekah with a smile. "You wanted a game?"

_My nation is small_, Klaus thought. A nation of one – the last of his kind. _I'm the last of _my _kind_, Bonnie had set. And yet, he was raising his army of hybrids still to hide behind – pawns he would willingly sacrifice at any time, to protect himself and the few others he cared about - and he would do it without a Queen. Whereas Bonnie, without a King or even a compatriot to stand at her side, was a Queen masquerading as a pawn, standing out in the front, bracing all of the attacks, sacrificing no one, and protecting not just herself – but the entire town that didn't even know the power her tiny body contained.

Everyone else thought Elena the Queen to capture, to have at their side – and that made everyone else a fool.

There was only one Queen in Klaus's eyes – one endgame; and it would take an intricate, complicated game of chess, where he would, of necessity, have to be a steady five moves ahead, to win her at last.

"Check," Rebekah sang out, dancing with her knight to mock Klaus' King.

Klaus smiled at his sister, taking her knight with his bishop as he had planned three moves ago.

"Checkmate."

"Dammit!"

**KB**

Caroline showed up to the ball in the dress Klaus had sent her, wearing the bracelet he had left for her, without her boyfriend in tow. She seemed to float across the room in her gown that was a perfect shade of dusky blue as Klaus took her hand in his and led her in a dance. She remained firm in word, if not in deed, insisting that her heart still belonged to Tyler. She even went so far as to threaten Klaus for what he had done and the bond that had been created, and Klaus had done her the honour of not laughing in her face.

The doppelganger had arrived as well with the Salvatores trailing predictably behind her. She wore an opulent black dress offset by a pained, almost confused expression. There was some calculation dancing behind those brown eyes, and Klaus made a note to keep a watchful eye on her.

But as the evening continued, there was no sign of Bonnie Bennett.

Klaus wasn't sure how to take this. Surely, Caroline must have told her friends of the gifts and attention she was receiving from the Original. Bonnie must be aware of the ball, and must have understood it as a slight that she had not been invited – not by him, the man who had seemed so intent on pursuing her, and not by his mother who might have reason to meet the only other witch in town.

Perhaps she was finally listening to him, Klaus considered for a very brief moment before dismissing the notion entirely. Bonnie Bennett? Listen to anyone or anything but her own silly conscience? She barely acknowledged her _self_. It was something he once admired about her – her selflessness, her unerring empathy and loyalty – but now despised, for it had, _again_, become an obstacle between him and what he wanted.

_What a conundrum_, Klaus thought as he spun Caroline gracefully away and she returned to his arms, all the while blathering on about her disinterest and her love of Tyler. He could defeat her slowly and in large measure, striking where it hurt, demanding that she obey him or accept that _he_ was what she wanted, was what was best for her. Perhaps he would gain her loyalty then – maybe, in a few decades, some degree of affection, as well.

But it would be empty.

_To be loved by someone good._ He would have to be careful not to destroy the good that was Bonnie Bennett. And when she took his gestures of kindness – such as his desire to have her protected at all times by a powerful, supernatural hybrid that she knew and trusted – as offenses, such an objective may be difficult for someone like him to achieve.

Perhaps he should take her decision not to attend as a victory. Perhaps she was indeed jealous – could not bear to see the beautiful, blonde vampire in the arms of the man she loved. But again, Klaus' brow furrowed, it seemed unlikely. And really, what was the point of twirling Miss Mystic Falls across the dance floor – a girl who looked, and acted, a bit too much like Rebekah to be tolerated – when the one unique personality amongst the lot was not there to witness it?

_Well_, Klaus thought as the song ended and he exchanged niceties with Caroline who made a show of dismissing him with extreme displeasure, _at least Kol was having fun._

Across the room, Kol was chatting up Idina, looking luscious in her green satin dress. However, despite her best attempts, she could not keep Kol's attention for long as he flitted from corner to corner, flirting with women and plotting mischief with Rebekah. Rebekah was standing by herself, her eyes on Matt across the room. Elijah was sharing a word with Elena, and Stefan and Damon seemed to have detached themselves from her shadow for once. Finn was likely trailing behind Esther, and that was about all of Mystic Falls he bothered to remember.

Except for one.

His gaze swept across the room again and _still_, he found no Bonnie. The room was full, and yet so _empty_ without its most important guest.

The clinking of glass drew his attention. Klaus grabbed a champagne flute from a passing waiter and turned to hear his mother's practiced speech.

Just as she reached the end of her speech, with glasses clinking together and guests laughing and taking sips, Klaus turned one last time to the door.

And suddenly, as if on cue, she arrived.

**KB**

Bonnie walked into the Mikaelson mansion, the heavy door closed with a thud behind her amidst the sound of clinking flutes, tapping high heels, ruffling skirts and discordant laughter. As she took her first steps, she felt the eyes turn to her. Everyone was watching her, the latecomer, as she made her way across the room with what could only be described as purpose.

Klaus couldn't tear his eyes away.

Bonnie wore a strapless red dress with a sweet heart neck line and a flowing chiffon skirt with multiple layers that flared out at her hips and danced around her legs as she walked. Her hair was pulled into a simple high ponytail, and her red lips danced with the hint of a smile. But even more captivating were her eyes: they sparkled with intrigue and didn't drift from his once as she made her way across the room directly towards him as if he had a secret to share. As her hips swayed, a slit in the dress that ran up her left leg to the height of her thighs revealed her entire smooth, muscled leg that Klaus found looked almost as good peeking out of a gown as it did coming out of his Henleys.

Bonnie's eyes were locked with Klaus'. She forced her steps to be steady, but felt her throat dry with anticipation. She had hoped to pique the Original's interest by taking him by surprise, but hadn't expected how handsome he looked in a tux or the expression on his face that had her heart thudding louder than her four inch heels. She licked her lips nervously. Klaus's gaze intensified, his lips snapping shut as if he hadn't noticed that they had been parted as he drank her in with his eyes. As he shifted his weight, crossed an arm around his chest and balanced the other arm against the first at the elbow, spinning his champagne glass in his hand, Bonnie felt like the only person in the room.

_No, the only person in the world._

When she reached him, Bonnie played with the thin chain that hung around her neck and disappeared into the neckline of her dress. She trailed her finger around it slowly without breaking their eye contact.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, his voice huskier than intended. His eyes swept over her face, lingering on her lips before returning to her eyes, "I don't believe you were invited."

"Hmm," Bonnie said, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth while twining the chain around her fingers. Klaus' eyes followed her movement, being drawn first to the curve of her breasts framed in red and then to the pendant that she extracted from between them. She dropped it, letting it fall its full length to her waist. "I think I was."

It was his pendant. His necklace.

"Well," Klaus cleared his throat and averted his eyes. He motioned around the room with his champagne flute, "You missed the party."

Though he was attempting to hide his interest, it was clear Kol was intrigued by the witch. Likewise, Damon, despite his hushed words with Elena, kept stealing glances in their direction. Caroline's brow furrowed as she watched them, trying to get Bonnie's attention for an explanation. Klaus found himself suddenly hating their presence, their judgment, their paralyzing interest.

"I would say," Bonnie said, taking Klaus' glass from his hand, being sure to graze her fingers against his and recapture his attention, "The party has just arrived."

She smiled, raised the glass to him as if in cheers, and then took a sip that stained the rim with her lipstick. She licked her lips under his heated stare and, as he reached for the flute, she held it out of his grasp and instead, took a step towards him.

Into him.

She was in his personal space, his sphere. The scent of her made him dizzy. The spectacular image of her glowing caramel skin against her dress made him forget where they were. But even worse, the lithe hand that gripped his arm to steady herself on wobbly heels, touched a part of his heart he thought had been steeled against her presence.

"Bonnie," he whispered, his voice heavy again.

"Make no mistake," Bonnie said, running her hand up to his shoulder and tilting her head up to whisper into his ear, "I am still planning to kill you."

Her breath and lips skimmed against his skin, sending a delicious chill through his body. She shifted to move away, but he caught her elbow, and nudged her face towards him with his own.

"Is this your way of protecting me from betrayal?"

"This is me giving you fair warning," Bonnie said, her brow lifting. "Don't threaten my friends."

"I didn't know lavish gifts were threatening," Klaus said, lowering his head to speak against her neck, his breath brushing her pulse point. "Next time, I'll skip the threat and go straight for the kill."

"Skip Caroline," Bonnie said. She stepped out of his grasp and he let her, "Skip Tyler. If you're aiming at me, just go for it."

"Go for it, you say?" He whispered, his eyes falling to her lips again.

Bonnie tried to ignore his gaze, but it was difficult to remain unaffected. When it came to Klaus, she was a mess of contradictory feelings that she hadn't had time to figure out. All she knew for certain was that, in that instant, with all of her friends' eyes on her, all she could feel was the Original's gaze as it traced the lines of her mouth for any semblance of an answer.

Instead of speaking, Bonnie attempted slid the flute back into Klaus's still extended fingers while focused on the eyes that shot up to meet hers.

The flute slipped through Klaus' hands and crashed to the floor just as he reached out, grabbed her by the small of her back, pulled her flush against him and devoured her lips with his own.

**KB**

_Breathless_.

There was no other word to describe the aftertaste of Klaus' kiss. He stunned her with his mouth, swallowing her gasp of surprise and revelling in every quiet sound that escaped afterwards. His hands held her tightly to his body at the small of her back, skimming the curve of her hips and tightening as the kiss continued, as if he was afraid she would walk away or disappear.

Or like he couldn't believe she was there at all. But when he pulled away at last, his lips tinged with her red lipstick and hers puckered from their kiss, she was still there. Her eyes were hooded, and she seemed to have forgotten to breathe, but she was still there.

Klaus blinked, and was back in reality. He heard the whoops and whispers around the room, glanced up to the Scooby Doo gang to see their looks of shock and surprise. His siblings were likewise intrigued and disbelieving. Only Stefan stood unimpressed with his arms crossed at his chest and his lips pulled into a tight, unforgiving line.

"Stockholm Syndrome," Damon said with a sneer.

"The pawn- queen." Rebekah's stunned voice seemed to float through the crowd.

"Lucky bastard," Kol raised a glass to his brother and downed the champagne in one go.

Klaus was glad for Bonnie's human hearing, that she couldn't hear their whispers and be broken from her trance. He ran the back of his knuckles against the smooth skin of her cheek. _This_ is how they should have been from the beginning, uninhibited in their passion – not chained up in a dungeon about to die.

_She _chose _to come to me_.

"Klaus," Bonnie said, shaking her head and shaking the spell off with it. She hadn't expected this. She had planned to catch him off guard and, yet again, he had turned the tables without even trying. She tried deceit and duplicity, and he beat her with his unguarded honesty.

"Come," he said, grabbing her hand in his own and stalking out of the ballroom.

"I don't suppose I have a choice," Bonnie said, still in a daze.

"You always have a choice with me," Klaus said, trailing his hand lightly over the necklace.

She followed behind him, unable or unwilling to pull her hand free. Her fingers tingled when he made his hold more intimate by sliding his fingers into the spaces between hers, as if they were met to fit there all along, like lost puzzle pieces that had just been found.

As the music started and couples began to dance again, they made their way past Kol and Idina who shot Bonnie a threatening glare. They walked past Matt who exchanged a glance with Caroline, to Rebekah's disapproval. They even moved smoothly past the Salvatores and Elena without interference. Bonnie's voice was bubbling up in her throat but dying on her tongue. She at once felt like the envy of every girl in the room, being whisked away by the most handsome, dashing and dangerous man there; but also a strong sense of shame that now all of Mystic Falls knew her secret – that she had allowed the Original more liberties than she should.

"Everyone is looking at us," Bonnie whispered harshly.

"I'm sure some of them are listening as well," Klaus said, nodding at Damon on end of the room and then Elijah on the other. "I suppose we have taken them by surprise."

They were out of the room and rounding the hallway, leading towards a large stone staircase built in a neoclassical style while modern, romantic lighting hit them from above and below.

"You," Bonnie corrected, "surprised them."

"If you mean our affectionate hello," Klaus said, "That could be no surprise considering how beautiful you look." He spared her his glance, could already tell her cheeks were burning even though she set her lips in a resolute line. "Had you approached any of the others, I'm sure they would have done the same."

"Somehow, I don't think they're going to see it that way," Bonnie said as they arrived at the staircase. With its gentle lighting, it was difficult to see what lay at its end and she hesitated before continuing. "They're going to want answers."

"I could not care less what your small minded friends think."

"And your family?"

"They know better than to question my decisions."

"And the rest of Mystic Falls?"

"They will all be dead in a century," Klaus said dismissively, "Not worth my concern."

"Is there anything you care about," Bonnie frowned.

As he moved to take her down the stairs, she stumbled on her heels and caught the hem of her skirt under her foot.

"Yes," Klaus said, sweeping her up in a swift move into his arms. She let out a small whelp of surprise that he found as endearing as the displeased glare that she shot his way short after. Her dress slipped open at the slit, hanging open and providing a delicious, teasing glimpse of caramel skin. As she instinctively grasped his shoulder for balance, he whispered: "You."

Bonnie laughed at the sensation of being carried. Klaus smiled at the sound of her laughter – at the way it lit up her face, a face that he hadn't realized how much he missed until he saw her at the Grille. It echoed in the romantic stair case as he made his way down to the landing. The staircase curved, so you couldn't see the landing from the top, and the acoustic design connecting it to the rest of the home meant he could speak without it being overheard by his siblings.

Privacy.

"I can't figure you out," Bonnie shook her head, "It's truly hilarious how indecipherable you are."

"I'm a simple man," Klaus said, setting her down. She reached her hands out to his shoulders to balance herself and then promptly let go.

"No," Bonnie shook her head, "You're an enigma. You come back to Mystic Falls to kill me and end up... kissing me," she cleared her throat before continuing, "The witches want to kill me – the one person who can kill _you _and you save me. I'm about to kill you and instead of cursing me, you say you... care about me," Bonnie's eyes met his, filled with skeptical curiosity, "You could have killed me, but you let me go."

"My plans may be complicated, but my intentions are simple. If you abandoned your prejudice toward me..."

"Uhh," Bonnie interrupted, "It's not prejudice if it's informed and based on fact."

"Feign ignorance for a moment," Klaus teased, tapping her chin, "and you might see me for who I am."

"Are you suggesting you're not a murderer?" Bonnie raised a challenging brow.

"You're mortal," Klaus said, "As such, you are naturally obsessed with mortality and death. Death stopped holding any meaning to me many centuries ago. The people I have loved have not – _cannot _– die. I cannot die." Klaus met Bonnie's eyes as they spoke, "The pain you feel for your losses – it doesn't inspire the regret you expected. It's intriguing," Klaus tilted his head as he observed her, "Encountering someone with so much power and potential still have so much empathy – care _so _much, especially about creatures that care little for her life," his eyes didn't have to flicker to the Salvatores or Elena to know of whom he spoke, "is captivating."

"It sounds like," Bonnie said softly, "You don't want me to die, so I can keep hurting."

"I don't want you to die," Klaus admitted so softly she barely heard, "so I can _stop_."

"That makes no sense," Bonnie said curtly. "I intend to kill you. My living will only cause you pain."

"I told you," Klaus said through clenched teeth. "Death holds no meaning for me. Some things are much, much worse than simple death." He ran the back of his hand against her cheek again.

"Such as," Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Torture."

"Such as," Klaus' voice grew hushed, "A world without you."

_You're the closest I've come to caring_, Klaus's words in the dungeon echoed in her mind.

Bonnie took a step backwards and found her back against the wall. Though lights lit the way up towards the ball room where the faint sound of music drifted down to them, the steps below led somewhere infinitely darker. Klaus didn't seem interested in taking her deeper down yet, but the fact that she couldn't see or _see_ anything about the space troubled her.

"You didn't kill me because," she peered up at him from those green, green eyes, "You're lonely?"

"I try to compliment you," Klaus sighed, "And because you can't accept that you are exquisite, you conclude that there must be something wrong with me."

"There _is_ something wrong with you," Bonnie deadpanned, but a smile twitched on her lips.

Klaus grinned, "Perhaps I see you more clearly than you see yourself."

Klaus took a step closer to her. With Bonnie flat against the wall, Klaus took a moment to skim his hands mere centimeters above her body – daring her to be touched. When she let out a shaky exhale but didn't budge, he set his one hand on the wall beside her, and the other fell to his side.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, nudging her fingers tenderly with his own as if they were asking to beheld, "I _know_ you." He lowered his voice so only she could hear, "You are strong and you put on an even stronger face to keep the world from seeing who you really are so you can protect the people you care about. But I see you," he paused to lay a kiss to her forehead and spoke against her skin: "And you see me, and you still have feelings for me." He pulled away to meet her eyes with an almost gentle gaze. "I can't let that go."

"I don't..." Bonnie started.

"Don't lie," Klaus whispered, and his deep voice sent electricity through her with its sincerity, "Don't wait until we have seconds left before you admit the truth. Whatever the truth is," his hand rose to skim the line of her jaw. "Just _say _it. I can handle it. You need not fear me." His thumb brushed against her lips.

A pause.

"You know," Bonnie said, her voice was quiet and reverent.

"Tell me," Klaus pushed. "We're alone – there's no judgment here."

"I," she hesitated.

"Yes?"

"I care about you," she said it so softly and quickly, he almost didn't hear it all. Then she let out an adorable, frustrated breath as if she had been trying her best not to admit it, not to feel it. Her instinct to protect, to be loyal, to fight for _good_ – only endeared her to him more.

Klaus' lips pulled into a slow, seductive smile that sent an excited thrill through Bonnie.

"I'm not proud of it," she quickly added, "It's a mistake. It's a strange reaction to what was an extreme situation."

Klaus' smug smile didn't fade. He felt like he was floating, and he let his hand rest on her hip to anchor himself – to her, to this moment. He moved closer to her, and she felt her skirts ruffle and crunch as he slipped them aside. His hands skimmed the fabric now, not clutching her, but offering her a hint of the heat she would feel if she gave in.

"Yeah, enjoy it while you can," Bonnie gave the Original side-eye that only made his smile grow. She had to bite back her own grin at seeing how pleased he was by such a small confession that, _let's face it_, he already pretty much knew. "It's not going to last."

"Oh?" He asked, though the smile hadn't faded in the least. He placed an open mouthed kiss on her throat and Bonnie had to clutch his shoulder to keep from dissolving into a puddle of nerves.

"I'm going to fall ou.. stop lik-" Bonnie scrunched up her nose, unable to find the right words and it only fueled Klaus' pleasure, "I'm going to stop these completely inappropriate, ridiculous feelings. Your face is going to disgust me as it should."

"We'll see about that," Klaus said into her skin as if he hadn't heard her at all. His hands gripped her now, and he lifted her easily off of her feet.

"Oh!" Bonnie gasped, surprised at the ease of his strength as he settled himself in front of her, between her dangling legs. He ran on hand up her left leg from the ankle to the knee to the thigh, letting the fabric slip over his hand and to the floor until the dress's slit revealed her entire leg. He continued to trail his hand up until he could cup her butt. With an appreciative growl and her responsive moan, Klaus shifted her weight against him until she was twined around him like a vine.

Then he closed his eyes and, with his face against her neck, inhaled the scent that was Bonnie Bennett. As he kissed her collar bone and ear lobe, her breath came in little pants and her fingers tightened – one against his shoulder, one in his hair. He took a step forward and was fitted flush against her and was happily surprised at the welcome moan that escaped her lips.

Pleased with her, he abandoned her neck to rain affection on her mouth instead.

Bonnie was a mess of sensation. The stairway was dark, lit by dim lights – it was secluded. She was dressed in chiffon that echoed as she involuntarily rubbed her body against his taller, harder one looking dashing in his tux. He had a look in his eye that completely stole her breath, and his kisses left her dizzy. When his hand slid up from her hip to cup her breast over her dress, she knew she should have stopped him, but she couldn't do anything but kiss him more ferociously. And when he shifted so that she was pinned to the wall, her weight resting solely on his hips and what lay between, she knew she should be disgusted – but she was the opposite.

She was enjoying it. Her brow was furrowing in pleasure, her toes pointing, her body eager to get _even closer_ to his. The rhythm of his breath, the husky, pleased tones of his voice only served to make her head swim with pleasure.

_It would be so easy to give in..._

And as soon as she thought that, Bonnie summoned her inner strength and, with her magic, _pushed_.

Klaus stumbled backwards at the unexpected force of her attack and Bonnie fell immediately to the ground, landing flat on her butt and breaking her heel. As they both clamoured to their feet, Bonnie kicked her feet off and aimed her hands at him again.

"Bonnie," he said, extending a hand that she set on fire with the blink of her eyes. "Shit!"

"No, actually," Bonnie said, "Fire."

"Fire can't kill me," Klaus frowned, managing to stifle the flames.

"Yeah," Bonnie conceded with a tilt of her head. She took a step up on the staircase, her back to the exit and her face to Klaus two steps below. "But it hurts like a bitch."

She said a few words in Latin and his pants were on fire next. As he stamped them out, she went for his hair. His sweet "Bonnie" moans became enraged yells as he hurried to extinguish them.

"Why?" Klaus managed to get out as she turned his tux jacket to ash.

"Because, whatever immature _feelings _I may have towards you," Bonnie lit up his arm next, watched as the skin burned and peeled, falling to the ground and turning to ash before he regenerated. "I love my friends more. They're _my_ family."

_It was almost tragic_, Bonnie thought, feeling the magic pool in her hands as she set fire to his dress shirt. _The more he kissed her, the stronger she got, and the easier it would be to kill him._

Klaus gritted his teeth against the pain. Well, he didn't think it would be easy, but this was a bit ridiculous.

"Leave Caroline alone," Bonnie said. Her eyes seemed to glow and dance in the light of the flames. "Leave Tyler alone. Stop manipulating them."

Another blast of flame.

"This is between us," the smell of charred vampire flesh entered her nostrils, "So leave them out of it, or we do this again." She raised her hand and the flames increased. "And again." She twisted her wrist and they burst outwards like a flower blossoming. "And again."

"Ugh..." he was on the floor, writhing, flames singeing into his skin like red vines. He shifted to get up, and clothes fell from his back to the floor in a pile of ash. He looked at her and his eyes were yellow.

Bonnie made a move to launch another attack, making the lights spark and out around them. She expected him to fight back. But he didn't.

He just stood still.

"Burn me," Klaus said, the pain barely lacing his voice, "The whole mansion will burn, taking half of Mystic Falls with it."

Bonnie frowned. He looked so... _hurt_. And the idea that she thought that, that she was tempted to show him mercy, was enough to remind her just how dangerous it would be if she gave in to these feelings.

She lowered her hands.

"I am going to kill you." She promised, sending him a killer headache that should last until she left the ball. Klaus fell to his knees as she turned to make her barefoot escape.

"I look forward to it."

**KB**

"What the fuck was that?" Damon growled at Bonnie as he drove her home. She had left the mansion barefoot, the edges of her dress slightly singed, and run smack into Damon on his way to have drinks at the Grille. He was in a bad mood – which was normally dangerous, but so was she, so they made a good, brooding pair.

Something had happened with Elena tonight, she surmised.

"A mistake," Bonnie said through gritted teeth. She crossed her arms in front of her. She didn't need to be lectured about love by _Damon_ of all people.

"Something stupid," Damon quoted her back to herself, "You were right about that."

"I frequently am." Bonnie mumbled.

"Do you want to explain to me why the vampire you were sent to _kill_," Damon said slowly as if she were stupid, "was sticking his tongue down your throat?"

"No," Bonnie said, pursing her lips and shaking her head, "Not really. I'm quite happy to keep that to myself."

"Is that why you didn't kill him?"

"No!" Bonnie's voice rose, offended. "I tired, okay? I know where my loyalties lie."

"_Do_ you?"

"I'm here in a singed dress," Bonnie motioned erratically, "Aren't I?"

Damon scoffed. "That I paid for."

"I _could_ switch sides," Bonnie reminded him, "There's not much appreciation on this side of the line."

"Hey," Damon said, "If you want me to appreciate you with my tongue..."

"Eww," Bonnie said dismissively, "Save the sweet talk for Elena."

His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"Why didn't you set him on fire on the dance floor?" Damon accused, "Light up all the Originals?"

"Hello," Bonnie said, "There were humans there!"

"So?"

"So!"

"Collateral damage."

"Yeah, collateral damage," Bonnie rolled her eyes. _How many times had he called _her_ that_? "You would say that."

"Well, why didn't you aneurysm him?"

Bonnie's face heated up, "I don't know."

"We could have coordinated with Elijah. Staked him?" Damon brainstormed.

"I don't know, it was last minute."

"Yeah, but you didn't do anything," Damon said, that sharp tone back in his voice. "Why? You did the _opposite_ of what you were supposed to do. I just don't get it? Why would goody-two-shoes Bonnie Bennett allow herself to be manhandled in public by a 'psychotic murderous vampire' instead—"

"Because I care about him!" Bonnie admitted, feeling her cheeks heat up at the admission.

She waited for the other boot to drop, waited for it to come – the judgment, the yelling, the sound of her own snapping neck. She braced herself, felt the magic pooling up in her hands, and prepared to send him a killer aneurysm when – something changed. Something in Damon's icy eyes changed and when he turned to her it was almost in amusement.

"Of course you do," Damon said with a laugh, "Of course Bonnie fucking Bennett has a crush on Klaus."

Bonnie blinked. "It's not a crush," she said slowly, "I'm going to get over it."

"Why?" He asked, looking over at her with those crazy eyes. Like he genuinely didn't understand _why_ she would rather get over romantic feelings than act on them.

"Why am I going to get over it?" Bonnie asked. "Are you kidding? He's the bad guy!"

Damon rolled his eyes so hard she was surprised they didn't fall out of his skull. "Yeah, and you're up for sainthood. Do the bad guys never get a second chance?"

"Not when they're Klaus." Bonnie said.

"Yeah," Damon said, "Not when they're Damon either."

Bonnie bit back the response that danced at the edge of her lips. Something _definitely_ happened with Elena tonight.

"At least in that dress," Damon grinned the classic Damon-smile, "you're smoking hot."

"Yeah," Bonnie conceded. "Literally."

**KB**

"What in the world are you up to, brother?" Rebekah frowned at Klaus the next day. Although he had done some sketches of the blonde vampire, his attention seemed completely glued to the green-eyed witch.

"Nothing," Klaus said. "That isn't already apparent."

"What happened with the witch?"

"Nothing," he repeated, but the tilt of his lips betrayed him.

"I don't think I've seen you like this in centuries." Rebekah concluded with a bored tone, though she was anything but.

"Determined?" Klaus quirked a brow without looking up.

"In love."


	14. Truth or Dare

**AN: THANK YOU for your reviews and especially your patience! I really appreciate it! I had a really long exam period that ended two weeks ago and I have re-written this chapter three times since then. Please, be warned: this chapter is definitely rated M; if that's not for you, skip the end of KB* and most of KB**.**

**Special thanks to RockerChick08 for her amazing reviews and encouraging messages!**

**Enjoy!**

_**Truth or Dare**_

_In love._

Bonnie blinked at the Original in front of her, offering her a deceptively charming smile. He was leaning against her car with his arms crossed, appraising her. His brown hair hung playfully before his eyes that seemed to twinkle with an amusement that made her incredibly uncomfortable. Like he was laughing at her.

She had woken up with trepidation and ignored the missed calls on her phone – had deleted the texts without reading them. She would have to face the music soon enough: she was heading to the Boarding House where she instinctively knew she would find her friends awaiting explanations.

She had donned her large black shades, squared her shoulders, and soldiered forward, ready to face the day.

But as Kol unfurled before her, pushing off of the car to walk with extra swag towards her and pin her with his eyes, Bonnie found herself coming up a little short in her arsenal.

"You didn't answer me, love," Kol said.

"What?" Bonnie asked, her jaw ticking at Kol's use of Klaus' favorite endearment.

"Are you," he said slowly, removing her shades from her face, pausing to close them with a tap against his chest while maintaining eye contact, "in love with my brother?"

Bonnie's heart thudded in her chest, and it only frustrated her more that he knew this – that he knew how the question affected her. Was she in love with Klaus? _No_. She couldn't be. Hadn't she proven last night that she was still determined to kill him?

_But you don't _hate _him..._

_He turned Tyler. He killed Jenna. _She had been repeating the words like a mantra, but occasionally unwelcome truths slipped in. _He saved your life_. _He kissed you senseless. He thinks you're perfect._

Her jaw ticked.

_He's _Klaus.

"Do you," Bonnie asked, plucking her shades from his grasp, "Have a death wish?"

She side stepped him and headed to her car, not too surprised that he followed behind her with his arms clasped behind his back and his mouth deliberately close to her ear.

"You looked simply stunning at the ball," Kol said, "Absolutely ravishing."

Bonnie opened her car door, but he easily slammed it shut before she could get in. She turned to him with a finger at her temple, visibly annoyed.

"So, tell me," Kol smiled, "Were you?"

Bonnie quirked a brow.

"Ravished, I mean?" And there it was, again, that teasing spark.

Bonnie's cheeks heated up in annoyance. "Go away, Kol."

"But I didn't get my answer," Kol said, grabbing her hand as she moved to turn away and bringing it to his lips.

"No," Bonnie spat, trying to tug her hand away, "I was not."

"Wrong question," Kol said, sliding her shades back into her hands. "We shall continue this another time," he nodded at her.

"Don't hold your breath," Bonnie muttered, but he was gone.

**KB**

The Boarding House was unusually calm when Bonnie pulled up. As she got out of the car, the front door swung open and she was shocked to see a blonde instead of a brunette stumbling out. She narrowed her eyes: it was Rebekah, or as Damon called her – Barbie Klaus.

As soon as she thought it, Rebekah turned her eyes on Bonnie. She straightened her posture and tilted her chin up in that superior way the Mikaleson's had. Bonnie mimicked her confidence, crossing her arms in front of her chest and glaring Rebekah down. Her lips were set in an unforgiving line as the vampire approached her. She was still wearing the gown from last night.

"Bonnie Bennett," Rebekah said, sounding out the name as if she were trying it for the first time. She stopped in front of the young witch.

"Rebekah," Bonnie said, as evenly.

Rebekah's lips pulled into a smile. "We haven't had the chance to be properly introduced."

"Why would we?" Bonnie sneered. "We are not friends."

"Oh?" Rebekah said, her smile turning devilish. "Is that what you and my brother are, then? _Not_ friends?"

"I can be more specific than that," Bonnie clarified, "We are enemies. I will kill him." She said it deliberately like she was saying she would pick up milk on her way home, "It's only a matter of time."

"Perhaps," Rebekah said, appraisingly, letting her eyes wander over the figure of the young girl before her. Dressed in a loose button-up blouse that fell mid-thigh, skinny jeans and ankle boots, she looked nothing like the belle of the ball that stole the spotlight the night before. _And yet..._ "But not in the way you think."

From over Rebekah's shoulder, Bonnie saw Damon peeking out from the Boarding House door. He was shirtless, and his eyes were squinting at the two of them in the bright morning light. Bonnie couldn't help the disbelieving laugh that left her lips.

"They're not Buy-One-Get-One-Free," Bonnie said. Rebekah glanced over her shoulder in time to see Damon slam the front door closed.

"Tell that to Elena," she said smoothly.

Bonnie scoffed and squared her shoulders, meeting Rebekah's eyes. "Elena's a fraction of your age and you're a fraction of the woman she is."

To her surprise, Rebekah smiled. "You're a lot more interesting than your friends. Caroline – _boring_. Elena – _like watching paint dry_." _I can see why Nik finds you appealing_, she wanted to add, but Bonnie interrupted.

"Did I ask?" Bonnie clicked the button on her keys to locker her car and moved to shove past Rebekah to the Boarding House.

"No," Rebekah said, blocking her retreat. "I'm just generous."

Bonnie tilted her head to one side, "I'll remember that when I'm killing you."

Rebekah smirked, "Pawn Queen, indeed."

Bonnie's brows pulled together, and she was about to ask Miss Walk-of-Shame what she meant, but the blonde was gone in a blur.

_Why do they keep doing that?_ Bonnie frowned just as the Boarding House door opened to reveal Damon again, fully clothed this time.

"Bonnie," he greeted her gruffly, alcohol and sleep still heavy in his voice.

"Damon," Bonnie eyed her sometimes friend. "Keeping it classy, as usual."

"I kept your secret," he told her, his icy blues hitting her green eyes meaningfully as he grabbed her arm and pulled her inside. He had her up against the door, glaring down at her with imploring eyes. "One lost cause to another?"

"I won't say anything," Bonnie bit out, pushing Damon lightly away from her. She had bigger things to worry about that anyone's opinion of Damon, let alone Elena's. Besides, knowing Elena, sleeping with Rebekah wouldn't do much to deter her if she really did have feelings for the older Salvatore. After all, hadn't she forgiven Stefan for literally ripping people apart? Bonnie shuddered at the memory as Damon backed off.

"A moment of weakness," he shrugged.

"Good," Bonnie decided with a nod. "I'm glad you took it out with Rebekah," instead of on Jeremy.

Damon nodded, more to himself than anyone else.

"Is Stefan home?"

Damon snorted, turning his gaze back on her. He had a way of looking at her that made her feel very small and very defiant all at once. "Of course," he sneered, "He's probably binging in the basement."

"Damon," Bonnie called out as he made his way back upstairs.

He turned to her with a raised brow, "Yes?"

"Thanks," she said quietly, "for keeping it to yourself."

Damon shrugged and trudged back upstairs.

Bonnie made her way to the basement where she found Stefan leaning against the freezer, dry and fresh blood coloring his lips red and spilling down his chin. He looked at her with a dazed gaze, as if he was under a spell. His eyes were pure black, veins pumping slowly on either side of his face.

"Stefan," Bonnie let out a shaky breath. She stilled in her approach when Stefan saw her and pinned her with a hungry gaze.

"Stay away," Stefan bit out, his head lolling to one side and then dropping down. He looked like a man defeated.

"No," Bonnie said firmly, willing herself to move closer. Her powers hadn't returned yet. They only seemed to be at full blast these days when she was around Klaus. But she forced herself to move closer until she was standing above The Ripper.

"What?" He snapped at her. "I can't control it."

"You can," Bonnie insisted. She ground the heel of her boot into the floor, resisting the urge to throw up at the overwhelming scent of blood.

"I can't," he barked again, his voice sounding nothing like the Stefan she knew.

Bonnie kneeled down before him. His hands were balled up to fists on either side of himself. "Stefan," she said firmly but quietly, "Look at me."

He turned his eyes to her and they gazed at each other for a long moment.

"We are kindred spirits, Stefan," Bonnie said. "You're on the edge, and so am I. You are fighting your feelings, and so am I. You were broken by Klaus and I... well, I need your help to resist that. We can fix this. We can get back to how we should be, but we have to help each other. I need you," she said, watching his eyes fade back to their normal color, "So get a hold of yourself."

"Bonnie," Stefan said, clinging to her name like a balm, "I don't think I can."

"You can," Bonnie insisted, extending a hand. "Ignore my heart beat."

Stefan shook his head, his jaw clenching like he was in physical pain.

"Ignore it, Stefan," Bonnie insisted, "Get up and take a shower. You cannot smell like blood when Elena gets here."

His eyes snapped to hers then. He didn't seem to be seeing her – he seemed to be locked in a sort of trance. But he was listening. He took her hand and together, they stood.

"Go get cleaned up." Bonnie said. "We have an Original to kill."

Stefan smirked at that. "If you only knew," he said.

Bonnie furrowed her brow, considered asking what he meant, but decided to let it slide. She could only take so many brooding, cryptic, psycho vampires in one morning, and she had already seen four too many.

**KB**

By the time Caroline and Elena showed up at the Boarding House, Bonnie was emotionally exhausted. Stefan and Damon had washed blood and Barbie off of themselves, respectively. Bonnie was waiting for them with three cups of coffee – one spiked with alcohol to help the hang over – when they trudged downstairs to greet each other with somber stares.

_There were some developments last night_, Stefan told her between sips, _but you should hear them from Elena_.

Damon smirked at Bonnie, _developments, indeed_.

_They're going to ask you about that_, Stefan said, studying Bonnie closely. She didn't fidget or flinch.

_I'm an open book_, she said, nodding firmly at the only two people who suspected her lie, but who would keep her secret anyway.

Kindred spirits, Bonnie thought, choosing to trust the Salvatores with her secrets, one lost cause for another.

"Where's Bonnie?" Caroline demanded as soon as she entered, walking right past Stefan to her brown-skinned friend who stood awkwardly to greet her.

"You!" Caroline admonished. "Don't you _dare _do that again!"

"Kiss an Original?" Damon smirked. Bonnie shot him a glare, and amusement flashed in his eyes.

"Not answer my calls," Caroline clarified. "I was so worried about you! You just disappeared with Klaus. If it weren't for Damon," Caroline seemed to shudder at the thought that she owed some peace of mind to the vampire, "I wouldn't have even known you got home safely."

"Sorry," Bonnie offered meekly. "It was an exhausting night."

Caroline grinned wickedly.

"No," Bonnie said, making a disgusted please. "No. Eww. Please! I mean, my magic was worn out. I was tired, I needed to recover."

It wasn't a complete lie. Bonnie couldn't do more than levitate a feather for hours afterwards.

"We have to talk," Elena said, entering the living room with Stefan close behind. She took a steadying breath as she met Bonnie's eyes, and then her lips broke into a smile. "We've done it, Bon! There's a way to get rid of the Originals without hurting you."

Caroline nodded emphatically, clearly having heard the story on her way over.

Stefan and Damon were silent – they knew as well.

Bonnie's voice felt dry in her throat. "What?"

"I met Esther last night. She did a spell."

Bonnie's breath hitched, "A spell?"

"Yes," Elena said, sitting down with everyone else, "

"Esther used my blood to link them," Elena explained, "What happens to one, happens to all of them."

"So, you're saying," Bonnie shook her head as if she was struggling to understand – or accept – what this meant, "If I kill Klaus, I kill them all?"

"Or if we go for one of the weaker ones," Damon suggested, "Klaus would die."

"We won't have to do anything," Elena said to the group. "One of them has volunteered."

"Why?" Bonnie frowned. Who would kill not only themselves, but their whole family – and _why_?

"Guess you found the one person who hates vampires more than you," Caroline said.

"It's Finn," Elena explained, "Esther is going to kill him, and it will kill them all."

"I..." Bonnie's hand flew to her temple. The information was too much: she was dizzy with it all. Klaus' life was no longer in the palms of her hands – no, it was in the hands of his estranged, resurrected mother. Which meant, he wouldn't die at her say so. Which meant, _he could be dying right now..._ "When?"

"I'm not sure," Elena admitted.

"You didn't ask?" Bonnie heard her voice rising. "You trust her?"

"She's going to do it," Elena met Bonnie's eyes with gravity, "I've never been more certain of anything in my life."

"And Finn's not going to back down?"

"Not likely," Elena said.

"If Klaus daggers one of them," Stefan surmised, lost in his own thoughts, "they'll all go down."

"This is it," Elena nodded, meeting Bonnie's gaze, "This will end it all."

"End it all," Bonnie repeated without thinking. Suddenly, she was back in that dungeon, staring down Klaus. _There's no one else_, he had said. His life was ending and he wanted to kiss her. Her life was ending and she wanted to get lost in him.

"We'll finally be free of him," Elena said. Her hand shifted on her lap, moving almost imperceptibly closer to Stefan's. Like she wanted to hold his hand. Like she had won her love back.

But Stefan sat in silent thought.

Damon downed his coffee. "Well, that solves that problem." He offered Bonnie a wry smile. "Didn't need you after all."

"As long as they're linked, we have a back up," Stefan agreed.

The two began discussing Klaus' impending death like it was nothing at all, and Bonnie wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond. They should be happy; Klaus was the boogey-man in their closets, and Elena had just told them they could get rid of him without damaging any of their designer clothes. They all had very real vendettas against him: he ruined Stefan, he killed Jenna, he turned Tyler.

_But he also saved my life_, Bonnie wanted to say. He wasn't as bad as they thought! He was a person, too. He cared about her.

_You're the closest I've come to caring_, he had said.

She was. Bonnie was.

He saw something in her, he made something in her jump to life – wasn't that something? Wasn't that worth _something_?

_No_, Bonnie thought, looking at her friends almost gleefully plot his death. _That wasn't something. That wasn't enough. He had killed people they loved – there was no recovering from that. There was only one end game here._

"Well, they're not dead yet," Bonnie said, more to herself than anyone else. She blushed at the audible relief in her voice, and turned to the prying eyes of her friends. "I saw one this morning," she said by way of explanation, "so, they were all alive up until then at least."

"You saw an Original?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah," Bonnie said, almost wanting to laugh when she saw the caught-in-the-act look that was frozen on Damon's face. "Kol."

"What did he want?" Elena asked.

Bonnie colored at the memory. _Are you in love with my brother?_

Damon rolled his eyes. "He's a man. Bonnie's hot. What do you think she wanted?"

Bonnie shared a secret smile with him. Whoever thought she'd be conspiring with Damon? How the mighty have fallen...

Elena seemed to shrink in her chair, letting out a simple "oh."

Caroline laughed, "First Klaus, now Kol."

"What?" Bonnie blinked rapidly at her friends.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice Klaus devouring your mouth," Caroline teased.

"Jealous, much?" Damon snorted at the blonde. Caroline glared at him.

"Caroline has Tyler," Elena pointed out.

"There's nothing to be jealous of," Bonnie interrupted. "

"What happened after you left?" Stefan spoke up suddenly, leaning forward. He narrowed his eyes at Bonnie. "Where did he take you?"

Bonnie balked, "Somewhere else in the mansion."

"Why?" Elena quizzed.

Damon was about to interject, point out – _again_ – that, hello, Bonnie was hot and Klaus is a man, but Bonnie shot him a silencing glare. He leaned back in his chair as if to say, you want to take this on by yourself? Be my guest.

"He wants me on his side," Bonnie said with a shrug. "He didn't expect to lose me so soon." She smiled at Stefan, "I guess he didn't expect you to rescue me."

Stefan nodded, but his eyes still studied his friend.

"Don't worry," Bonnie said, "I set him on fire and left. That's why I was so tired," she turned to Caroline, "it takes a lot to roast an Original."

"So you don't..." Elena began, and Caroline nudged her to be quiet.

"What?" Bonnie asked, "You can ask me anything."

"You don't have feelings for him?"

_Don't lie_, she heard Klaus' whispered voice against her skin like he was right beside her: _Don't wait until we have seconds left before you admit the truth_.

"No," Bonnie said, feeling her stomach twist at the lie. _He kissed you senseless_. "He's evil. How could I?"

_How could she admit it now? Now, that it was all going to end? Now, that he was going to die? How could she face the fact that she... wasn't ready for Klaus to die_.

_It's too hard,_ she thought, feeling the anger and frustration pool in her heart.

"Really?" Elena pressed.

Bonnie knew the truth.

She knew it from how it stuck in her throat, how it refused to budge, how it refused to be spit out.

_She... _liked _him_.

"The man who killed Jenna and turned Tyler?" Bonnie snapped, "I'm not going to dignify that with a response."

"Thank goodness," Caroline asked softly.

"I should have known," Elena offered her friend a smile, "You're smarter than that."

"It would have been tragic," Caroline nodded in agreement.

Damon downed his drink and frowned at the witch. She ignored him, knowing he took her rejection of Klaus as analogous to Elena's rejection of him.

Stefan's eyes remained on Bonnie. He knew Klaus' attraction to her, his single-mindedness and, most dangerous, his charm. Stefan wouldn't question her further, not after everything she had done for him. But he would be careful with how much he trusted her going forward. The way her eyes didn't match her smile told him that there was a conflict of interest brewing.

The conversation continued around her and Bonnie relaxed into her own personal silence. They had waited too long for this to end – she wasn't going to ruin it with silly affection that may be sincere for her, but was probably routine for Klaus. She wasn't going to ask Elena to sacrifice her safety or for Caroline to forgive Klaus merely because he made her feel... well, _feel_.

She couldn't do it. She was Bonnie-freaking-Bennett, and it would take more than some man (no matter how devastating) to put the people she loved in a position like that.

And yet, as her gaze fell to the window, she couldn't help but think... is he still alive? Right now? Or now?

Or now?

**KB**

Bonnie didn't see Rebekah or Kol for the rest of the day.

She didn't see Rebekah at the Grille later. She was usually there competing with Caroline for male attention and adoration – sometimes staring at Stefan, sometimes chatting flirtatiously with Tyler, sometimes sitting quietly across a long table from Matt. But Tyler was out of town, Matt was working and Stefan was having a different kind of lunch somewhere else.

"Something wrong?" Elena had asked her when she noticed she was distracted.

"No," Bonnie had forced a tight smile, "Everything is as it should be."

Not as she wanted it to be, but as it should be.

She didn't see Kol either when she went home that evening. She took her time driving, lingered in the drive way and strolled to the front door. She even stood outside her porch for a minute and listened to the lonely sweep of the breeze. Did she expect him to show up and surprise her twice in one day? No... but between her driveway and the bar at the Grille, she couldn't think of anywhere else to seek him.

They were missing.

At home by herself, Bonnie thought she was going insane. Even the clock taunted her.

_Tick. Tock. The Wolf is Dead. The big, bad Wolf is dead._

Instead of eating, she twirled her spaghetti around her fork meaninglessly, drawing random patterns in her food until it was too cold to eat.

_Is this how it ends_, she wondered, gazing out of the window to the setting sun: _not with a bang, but with a whimper?_

She did some of the homework she had missed out on. Elena and Caroline had been covering for her while she was "away" – Elena thought, battling Klaus; Caroline thought, on a witchy research trip. But now that she was back, she had to catch up if she wanted to pass finals and graduate high school.

_Tick. Tock._

Bonnie distracted herself with television. Then with chores. At 9, she broke down, took out her cell phone and considered calling Klaus before realizing she had no way to reach him. No way to contact him. For someone she had spent so much time with, they hadn't so much as exchanged emails.

At 10, she was so nervous and flustered and confused, that she got in her car and went the one place that would have all the answers.

The Mikaelson's.

**KB**

The Mikaelson mansion was empty when Bonnie arrived. The lights were off. She knocked on the door and rang the bell, and no one answered. She walked around to the back where she found, to her bewildered amusement, a freaking random horse – but no Originals.

A side door leading to the kitchen was open, and she knocked on that, too – only to have it creak open.

"Hello?" Bonnie called meekly. She summoned her powers to pool in her hands, just in case she met with a vampire in a bad mood. Surprisingly, she hadn't had any major run-ins with _any_ of the Originals before, except the one she was actively seeking...

Her magic hadn't been like it was before the night in the basement when everything went wrong. She was still recovering, it seemed – and at times, she wondered if she would ever be powerful again. And maybe that was part of the Klaus pull – the fact that, around him, she felt more powerful than she ever had before. And not just on the magic scale.

Bonnie walked through the kitchen and saw nothing out of place. The dishes were packed away. The countertops were clean.

She ran her hand along the walls as she walked through the kitchen to a large living room with a grand piano.

"Hello?" she called out again, "Rebekah? Kol?"

No one.

She ran her fingers over the keys of the piano, played a simple tune that echoed around the room. But no one came to hear her play.

The grandfather clock in the hallway mocked her with the swing of its pendulum: _Tick. Tock._

"No," Bonnie spoke aloud to herself, "They could just be out for the night. This doesn't mean anything."

She moved from one room to the next, tentatively calling out to keep from surprising any Originals. By the time she got to the ballroom, there was a growing knot in her throat, and she had to struggle to keep the tears from falling.

It was as silent as death.

Bonnie made her way upstairs to the bedrooms next. The path to Rebekah's room was obvious – the halls were lined with portraits of her in different styles, likely from different centuries. But when she knocked on her door, no one was there.

She skipped Kol's quarters, not wanting a replay of that morning. Not on his turf.

Next was Elijah's room.

"Elijah?" She called out tentatively before knocking. But still, there was no one. She nudged the door open, feeling safest in exploring his room, and found it empty, but incredibly tidy – everything was in its place. On his writing desk, she saw a carefully preserved sketch of Elena – or rather, she thought again, the Original Petrova.

Bonnie stopped in the room that smelled of sage – bracing herself to find Finn or Esther, whom she had never met. But it, too, was empty.

Slowly, she made her way back to the ball room. She stood at the center, and turned around, taking it all in.

Bonnie walked through the ballroom in an outfit decidedly less magnificent than the one she wore the last time she was there. With its wide French door balconies, and the curving stair case, it seemed like something from a fairy tale book. The moonlight streamed in, casting the room in a strange white-blue. Every step she took seemed to echo louder than the last.

It was so empty. She thudded her chest with her fist, to keep her heart beating. It felt like it would stop.

She ran her hands along the walls and found them cold. Impersonal. Distant.

She forced her chin high to keep the trepidation from making her cry.

She stopped in the spot where Klaus had kissed her, took a deep breath and yelled.

"I'm here!" she screamed, not waiting for the echoes to fade before adding: "Come and get me!"

Then she stood, magic pooling in her hands, waiting, waiting, _waiting_... but no one came.

_Don't wait_, he had said.

Bonnie fell to the floor in fast-forward. The tears were streams first, no sobs came with them. And then the sniffles, and the blurry vision. And then, there it was: that feeling of your chest having hollowed out. Her fingers curled into fists at her sides. Though she tried to stifle her cries, they echoed in the large room, spurring her on. Her lip trembled and her brow furrowed as she tried to get a hold of herself, but nothing worked.

_This is how it ends, with a whimper_, Bonnie thought. The words circled over and over in her mind: _Her turned Tyler. He killed Jenna. This is how it ends. He saved your life. He turned Tyler. This is how it ends. He killed Jenna. He kissed you senseless. With a whimper_.

Between the tears she couldn't reason or make sense of – _who cries over the death of a man they planned to kill? _– and the clawing grief at her chest, Bonnie's mind was whirring too fast to make sense of anything at all.

In fact, she didn't even notice the footsteps in the room that came toward her in a determined stride.

She didn't notice the hand on her shoulder or the circles that it drew on her back.

But when he leaned before her and tipped her chin up to face him, his expression pulled tight with concern, she noticed.

And for a moment the tears stopped. Hell, the world stopped. She was certain she existed in the space between heart beats.

"Klaus!" she said, barely a whisper, but in the ball room it was a shout.

"Love?" he frowned, "Are you alright?"

**KB***

"You're..." _Alive_, she wanted to finish, but couldn't. Because then he would know – he would know something was up, he would know Esther's plan. And fine, so she had feelings for the hybrid – but did that mean she would trade her friend's safety for him? Would she trade the safety of all of Mystic Falls? And all of humanity for the indefinite future as long as Klaus and his hybrids lived?

No, she couldn't. She wouldn't be Bonnie Bennett.

So, instead, she ended meekly: "home."

Klaus eyed her skeptically, but didn't say anything. Instead, he cradled her face in his hands as she sat up and wiped her nose. With his thumbs, he dried her cheeks.

"When did you get back?" Bonnie floundered for words, "I was looking for you."

"Oh?" Klaus smirked at that, letting his hands trace her jaw before one fell to his side.

"The house was empty," she said, "I let myself in..."

"Bekah and Kol are out causing trouble. Elijah, who knows? And Finn is off with mother somewhere," he nudged her chin up, "which is really for the best, because I'd hate to share this vision with anyone else."

Bonnie was beautiful – even in her sorrow, she was breathtaking. Her green eyes shimmered from the fullness of her tears, her wavy hair cascading unruly down her back. Her full lips trembled and the edges of her long sleeves were worried from the grip of her fists.

Under his studious gaze, Bonnie frowned. She tried to pull herself out of his grasp, but he held her insistently.

"You were crying," he said, searching her eyes for some kind of answer. "Something's wrong."

"It's nothing," Bonnie said, trying to move away again. This time, Klaus let her. Being so close to him, she felt her magic thrumming, but for the first time, she didn't want to pool it to strike. She let it fizzle in her palms.

"_Nothing_ wouldn't have Mystic Falls' most powerful witch crying in an empty ballroom."

"Can you stop mentioning," Bonnie sniffled, "that I was crying!"

Klaus smiled, "You're adorable."

"You're aggravating."

"You like it."

"I..." the words hitched momentarily in Bonnie's throat, "I had a long day. Your little stunt at the ball caused a bit of a fall out with my friends."

"Oh?" Klaus asked as he moved to stand before holding a hand out to help her up. She declined his assistance.

"They were asking a lot of questions," Bonnie said, cringing inwardly at how weak she sounded, "about you."

"Such as?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, and said before walking away, "Whether I had feelings for you."

Klaus followed closely behind her, and she could hear the delicious smile on his voice: "And, naturally, you had to break into my house and fall apart in the ballroom as you were overcome with emotions and simply had to see me."

Bonnie smirked, stopping short and turning around. And for the second time, she was stunned by the way Klaus appeared. In a simple Henley and jeans she had seen him in probably a thousand times, he cut a handsome silhouette in the moonlight – his face was lit up in all the right places, especially the curve of his cheek bones and the fullness of his mouth.

Bonnie bit her own lip without thinking.

"And what did you tell them?" Klaus's eyes were set on hers, and Bonnie didn't flinch.

"That I didn't."

"So you lied?"

"I did."

A pause. As if he was waiting for her to realize what she said, or take it back.

Klaus smiled.

"So free with your truths now," Klaus reached out to touch her cheek and she leaned into it. After some hesitation, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the roughness of his palm against her skin.

"They want to protect me," Bonnie said simply, as if not having feelings for him made her protected. She didn't feel any less vulnerable now than she had when her anger had driven her to attack him.

"They're the ones you need protecting from," Klaus reminded her, stepping closer until his chest was scant inches away from hers. "I would never send you to your death."

"There are many ways to die," Bonnie pointed out as she nuzzled his hand with her cheek, "And many things worse than death."

_Like becoming a Ripper_.

"Your friends," Klaus said, his breath hitting her neck as he leaned forward to speak in her ear, "Think they know what's best for you, and they won't stop to ask you what you think."

Bonnie frowned, pulling back a bit. "They're probably right, though. You _are_ bad news."

His smile extended at that, his eyes narrowing on her mouth. "And yet, here we are."

"Here we are," Bonnie agreed as his thumb found the curve of her lips. She glanced at his eyes and held his gaze as they darkened. This was a dangerous dance.

"So," Klaus said, taking the single step forward that had her body brushing his. The way his shoulders curved made her feel crowded: completely covered by Klaus. His voice, his scent, the heat of his body, the way her magic was jumping at her wrists. She was so dizzy, she could barely hear above the pounding of her heart. "I'm asking, Bonnie. What's best for you?"

Moments ago, she thought he was dead. Moments ago she thought she would never hear his smooth voice, see his steady eyes or feel his skin against hers again. The depth of her devastation was as revealing as it was freeing. She had feelings for him. And that was ok. As long as it didn't hurt anyone, that was ok. Wasn't it?

And he would be dead soon, and none of this would matter.

None of this would matter.

Hesitantly, she reached out, her hands skimming his sides. She brushed his shirt, and he could feel the heat of her skin through the material. He wanted to crush her to him – to once again feel her body pressed tightly against his – as if they were one. But he was still as a statue; letting her take from him what she needed.

He expected her to lean up and, maybe, kiss him. He expected her to pull him against her in a passionate embrace.

But instead, she rested her hands on his chest, one above the spot where his heart used to beat. Then she took a step into him, and rested her head on his chest. Overcome with the emotions of the day, her hands twisted in the fabric of his shirt. She brought them up and down against him, hitting him lightly out of frustration. Then she buried her face against his chest, rubbed her cheek against his shirt and trembled with silent sobs – holding on to him as if she couldn't believe he was there, couldn't believe she would have to let him go.

Klaus was stunned. He had never held a woman while she cried before. Well, Rebekah, when they were much younger, but that hardly counted. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't a fan of weakness – it made him uncomfortable and on edge. Yet, Bonnie's tears felt like anything but; it felt like trust. And it stunned him.

He raised his arms and wrapped them tentatively around her. She melted more comfortably into his embrace. He felt his skin heating up; the animal inside him enjoyed this – the wolf felt its protective instincts, long suppressed, rising up and he clutched her even closer. She seemed to hum in response, she seemed to enjoy the feeling of his arms. It made his chest tingle, felt more soothing to him than it could possibly be to her – to be needed, like this, so simply. To be the one who held her when she cried.

It was the last thing he expected after their last farewell. What had happened to drive her to this emotional edge, he had no idea. It couldn't be mere questions – he knew that. But he wouldn't question her now. Not when she was so soft in his arms, not when she was pressing herself even closer to him and her hands had slid around to clutch his back.

Everywhere she touched felt like she had lit him on fire; and for once, he loved it. Klaus loved this feeling – he craved it – even as he was wrapped around her, he wanted more. If he could engulf her more, he would. If he could absorb her into himself, he would. He couldn't think straight as her lips mumbled incoherent words against his chest – all he could think was _more_.

Bonnie quieted in his embrace. His arms felt like heaven: she couldn't remember the last time she had been held like this. His entire body was strong and felt safe. His skin was warm and smelled that delicious _Klaus_ smell. Her tears – of relief, of fear, of being overwhelmed, she didn't know exactly why she was crying, she just knew she had to – soon stopped. She pulled back to look at him, and he took the opportunity to lean down and kiss her forehead.

A small smile tugged on Bonnie's lip and Klaus leaned forward to capture that, too.

Turning into him, Bonnie paused for a moment – let him doubt it for a moment – with her lips centimetres away from his, before she caught his bottom lip in a kiss. She nipped it with her teeth, letting her hands slide up his chest to wrap around his neck. Then she tugged it into her mouth and enjoyed the feel of his full, red mouth against her own.

When he overcame the initial shock, Klaus returned her kiss as gently as she gave it. Slowly and sweetly, she opened her mouth to his and he couldn't help the way his grip tightened on her hips. Her lips were soft against his, moving with rhythmic pressure against his. When his tongue met hers, she let out a feminine moan that spiked his desire and roughened their kiss.

Bonnie was taking inventory: without realizing it, she was making sure it was all there – he was alright, in this moment, he was alive. She clung to him, her fingers seeking all corners of his body as he leaned her backwards in a sensual dip. She clutched his biceps, letting her fingers trail to his elbow, find the edge of his sleeve and push it up so she could feel his skin.

"Bonnie," Klaus pulled away to whisper her name against her lips before capturing her lips again. He started walking her backwards, like they were dancing, until her back met the wall. Then his lips left hers again to nip at her jaw line and pull at the skin of her neck. He nuzzled where her pulse beat hummingbird-fast, and lay a long open mouthed kiss to it that had her pulling his hair and moaning his name. He loved how that sounded, so he did it again.

When he moved his skilled lips to her ears, Bonnie gasped at the sensation that rocked her body. She could feel her heart beating all over her body, her blood rushing in response to his touch. One hand between them had slid down the small of her back to slide over her ass. When he grabbed her ass, she let out a little yelp and then laughed as he hoisted her up and settled himself comfortably between her spread legs.

Bonnie's laughter echoed in the ballroom, and when Klaus paused to look at her, his eyes dark and seductive, he found himself on the receiving end of the lightest, most care free grin he had ever seen grace her face. Between tendrils of hair that hung over her face before she tossed her head and they fell to the side, she smiled: her lips were pink and her cheeks flushed from their heated kisses, but even more beautiful was that smile – that smile that was for him.

Klaus had never thought – no, had never even hoped – that what was between them could lead to that. Happiness of a sort, he had known. The tense happiness of safety from danger; of love well made between passionate adults; of a full belly and a warm drink on a cold night. But the happiness of a woman wrapping him up in her soft body, and smiling down at him while _knowing_ him, knowing who he was – that was a different sort of happiness all together.

Klaus smiled back. And Bonnie thought his dimples could stop her heart.

Without thinking, a small chuckle escaped his throat and he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Klaus," she whispered against his cheek. She linked her legs together around his waist so he wouldn't put her down. She was almost ashamed to acknowledge that she loved this angle – sinking into him, feeling his arousal pressed right up against hers and being completely crowded by him. She didn't think she could stand anyway – her head was swimming too much, her knees were too weak.

His hand flexed on her butt, his hand shifting so his thumb could come up to press against her crotch as he captured her lips again. "More," he said.

"Hmmm?" Bonnie hummed, her eyes closing from the sharp pleasure of his thumb tracing circles against her. Her breath caught as he lay another sucking kiss on her clavicle and then closer to the centre of her breasts.

"Say my name," he said, moving up to nip her ear. Then he pressed his thumb right there – right where she wanted it most, against the heat that burned for him even through her jeans – and she did as he asked: she cried his name like a prayer as his thumb, and his tongue, and his hands and his heat brought her to orgasm fully clothed against the ballroom wall.

**KB**

She would go up to Kol and say "Ask me again". Ask me again, and I will answer: _yes. I'm in love with Niklaus_.

**KB****

Klaus took her downstairs. He held her up against him, her legs still linked around his waist, and took her down the same corridor to its end. They reached a large oak door lit on either side by small pot lights. He pressed a key code in and the door swung open for them.

Bonnie vaguely registered the feeling of being carried as she struggled to catch her breath and catch her bearings. Had she just orgasmed... for the first time in her life _in front of someone else_... in front of Klaus? Shit, she should be mortified. Mortified! And yet, she couldn't bring herself to care. Because she was still wrapped up in his arms, wrapped up in his scent, and tasting the saltiness of his skin where her lips met his neck.

He set her down on the bed and watched as he moved to remove her shoes and set them aside.

"Where is this place?" Bonnie said, finding her voice. Embarrassment starting to sink in, she cast her eyes around the room. Like the hallway, it was lit with pot lights that she assumed he used a dimmer to keep low. Paintings were piled in one corner, and sheets of paper were spread across a long table in another. A fireplace burned at the centre of two chairs he must have carried her past, and in the far corner – where they were – was a large bed with a black-tiled bathroom to the left.

"My lair," Klaus joked before pressing a kiss to her ankle that sent a shiver through her.

"No, seriously," Bonnie said.

She was in skinny jeans that annoyed Klaus. He traced the long curves of her legs with his face, pausing to kiss her knee through the fabric, heading up to the delicious hit at their apex. She squirmed underneath him, but when he glanced up at her, he saw her eyes clouded over with lust.

"It's my room," he said, reaching up to grip her jeans and pull her forward to the edge of the bed while he remained kneeling before her. "No one can hear what goes on in here." He caught her eye, "Which is good, considering what I plan to do to you." He flicked the button of her jeans open and smiled wickedly.

"Oh," Bonnie said, barely registering his words. Her mind still foggy, the way his hands massaged her thighs was not helping her keep her head on straight.

He pulled her zipper down and met her eye, waiting for a yes or no. "Bonnie?"

Bonnie's mouth was dry with anticipation. She could feel her arousal building again, and it was all she could do to utter "yes" before her heart was thudding louder than her thoughts.

Klaus smiled at her as he tugged her jeans down, laying open mouthed kisses on her hip bones that had her squirming. When he pulled them off, she felt self conscious in her purple granny panties for all of two seconds before Klaus threw one leg over his shoulder, turned to press an sucking kiss to the inside of her thigh. He mumbled into her skin as he inhaled her scent, "God, you're so beautiful."

"I'm going to take care of you," he promised, and Bonnie wondered if he realized he was speaking at all. He put her leg down and placed small biting kisses around the hem of her panties as he lowered them slowly. "You will never want for anything again." She watched his eyes turn yellow as he licked up a bead of her sweat. "I will protect you." He paused to nip at the curve of her hip and the roundness of her thigh. "I will deserve you," he mumbled as his thumbs latched either side of her panties and Bonnie let out the sweetest moan. "I promise you, I will deserve you."

He pulled her panties down off her legs, waiting until the vision was completely free before laying his eyes on her. Then he let out a breath laced with words that could only have been an ancient endearment.

Bonnie's head was swimming with sensation. She had never been so lost in sensation before. She was eighteen, she had had sex twice before with Jeremy – the first right after she brought him back to life when she thought she had lost him, the second when she returned for the summer before she found out about Ana. They were both inexperienced; it was clumsy, but sweet, and everything she wanted for her first time with her first love. But this – this was altogether different. Klaus made her feel like she was on fire. The way he looked at her, the way he talked to her – like a condemned man being granted a final wish – she never thought she could feel this way. She didn't think it could get any better than these hot, fluttering sensations racking her body.

That is, until Klaus called her name and she met his eyes flashing alternately blue and yellow and said: "I will be it for you, Bonnie." He took a steadying breath, and said it again, to make sure she understood him. "Give me time, and I will love you like no man has ever loved before."

And then he lowered his head and kissed her.

Klaus' lips set Bonnie on fire. She was alternately clinging to his hair and then clinging to the mattress as he licked up every drop that evidenced her desire for him. When she thought she could take it no more, he pressed his tongue against her and she exploded for the second time that night into a mess of sensation and incoherent sounds that sounded something like his name.

When she calmed, Klaus scooped her up and took her to the bathroom. He set her on the counter and she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Dizzy," she explained, and heard him chuckle. He pressed a kiss against her forehead.

"Thank you," he said against her skin, and Bonnie smirked at that.

"Shouldn't I be thanking you?" she muttered, feeling suddenly so light and so heavy at once. She wanted to drift to sleep in his arms, she reached out and grabbed on to his hand, not wanted to not be touching him. "The pleasure was all mine."

Anchored to her, Klaus stretched to turn on the shower. Then he took off his shirt and moved to take off his pants. He spoke against her neck: "I love hearing you cry my name like I'm you're only anchor to the earth."

Bonnie tugged him against her and marvelled at the body before her. She splayed her hands against his chest and tentatively, leaned forward to nip at the muscle there. He tensed and twitched at her touches. She lowered her hands to the edges of his hips and leaned forward to graze her teeth against his hip bones.

"Oh-kay..." Klaus said, sitting her upright. He held her by the shoulders and she smiled up at him playfully. He took a few steadying breaths before he let her go. "We're done for tonight," he said.

"Why?" Bonnie pouted.

"Because you're not ready for anything else," Klaus said, pausing to look at her, to see if she would correct him.

"You're right," she admitted, pulling her shirt lower to hide her body. Then her eyes cleared and she shook her head. "I don't even know if I was ready for that."

Klaus eyed her for a moment and let out a sigh. He knew. He should have known. She wasn't ready. She didn't care for him; not enough for this.

"I'll give you your privacy," he said, pulling a clean towel from the rack and handing it to her.

She took a shower. Then he brushed his teeth.

And soon, they were alone in the room again – Bonnie shifted awkwardly in unclean panties and one of Klaus' henleys, and Klaus topless with sweat pants slung low on his hips. Part of Bonnie knew he dressed that way to tempt her – to show her exactly what she wasn't ready for. And it was partially working, as Bonnie's gaze couldn't help but drift. Her mouth felt dry and she had to lick her lips before she spoke.

"That was..." she felt her cheeks heat up.

"Only the beginning," Klaus teased.

"What?" Bonnie blinked at him, remembering his words suddenly and looking away as her whole body seemed to blush. _I will love you like no man ever has before._

"I'm eighteen," Bonnie blurted out.

Klaus furrowed his brow before laughing. "And?"

"And," Bonnie licked her lips, feeling her whole body tense up defensively, "This is happening too fast."

"I've waited so long," Klaus said honestly, and Bonnie found herself ashamed once again at how deceptive she was being – with Klaus, with herself.

"I understand," Bonnie nodded. It would be easier this way, she thought, if he was the one to end it. Heart ache I can deal with. Loving a monster? Not as easy.

"A few more years," Klaus dismissed her concerns with the flick of his hands, "is nothing."

"What?"

"I'll wait for you," Klaus said. "Catch up with me; feel for me even _a fraction_ of what I feel for you."

"You don't feel for _me_," Bonnie snapped, overwhelmed with his increasingly high-stakes confessions. "You—"

"I want you," Klaus said lowly, "To care for me."

"I—" Bonnie shook her head.

"Just a fraction," Klaus said. "Just a fraction of what I feel, and I will protect you. Forever."

Bonnie shivered. "I _do_ care about you."

Klaus shook his head and let out a humorless laugh. "If you only knew how desperate I was to believe that." When he turned his eyes on her now, they were angry. They were defensive.

Bonnie crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You're angry," Bonnie said lamely.

"You're a frustrating woman," Klaus said. "Any other woman would be falling over herself to keep me after tonight."

Bonnie opened her mouth to make a snarky reply when she realized what he had said.

_I will deserve you_.

He wasn't trying to criticize her; he was trying to convince himself.

"I'm not any woman," Bonnie reminded him. "It takes more than kisses."

Klaus turned to her with determination now. "What do you want?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said, "I don't know if anything will ever be enough. We're too... different."

_I'm too evil._

"This back and forth has to stop," Klaus said. He couldn't fall for someone who could never love him; it would destroy him. She would destroy him; he knew it now more than ever. "You need to make up your mind. Are you in this, with me; or are you out?"

Bonnie frowned. "It's not that simple."

"Explain it to me."

"I care about you," Bonnie said for what felt like the umpteenth time, "But we can never be together. We shouldn't have even had tonight. I'm going to kill you, Klaus," Bonnie said, "I'm going to kill you, and I'm not going to fall in love with you before I do."

"Why not?" Klaus said flippantly. "What difference will it make?"

"It'll make a difference to me," Bonnie insisted. "I'm not choosing between the people I love. The people I love need to all be on the same side. And you will never be on their side."

"I'm on _your_ side," Klaus pointed out. "Isn't that more important?"

"No."

"Your friends would not stand for you as you do for them."

A beat.

"Doesn't matter," Bonnie said. "I couldn't live with myself if I hurt them."

_And there was the rub_, Klaus thought. The thing he craved most about Bonnie – her ability to love others, to love him – was exactly what would always keep them apart.

_Love me like that_, he wanted to yell at her. He wanted her to be unable to live with herself if she hurt _him_. He wanted her love like nothing else, and the clawing desperation was beginning to frighten even him.

"You sound like you have already made up your mind," Klaus said.

Bonnie frowned. "I just don't see any other way."

If she forgot about her loyalty, forgot about her morals, her love wouldn't mean as much to him. Klaus knew it and hated it.

It was hopeless.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said, feeling the guilt well up in her chest. "I should never have come here."

Bonnie looked away from him. She felt like she wanted to cry again. Why was she stuck like this? Elena loved Damon, who was totally demented and psychotic. She also loved Stefan who literally ripped people apart! But both of them were on the "good" side; both of them would survive should it come down to a war against the Originals.

And then, suddenly, something seemed to snap in Klaus's mind and the mood changed from hopeless to determind.

"One day," Klaus said, his voice commanding her attention. "Give me one day, and you can make your decision."

Bonnie blinked at him. One day. That was all she needed, right? Esther would kill him soon after that. She could indulge in Klaus for just one more day... couldn't she?

"One day?"

"I will respect your decision," Klaus said magnanimously, "Whatever it is."

"Alright," Bonnie said. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

**KB**

Bonnie insisted on driving home after their conversation. She needed time away from him. She needed distance. She needed to think: what did it all mean? She had let him get so close to her, she had given him hope that they could be something more than enemies – but could they be? She doubted it.

_I will love you_, he had said. This wasn't a game to him – this wasn't a fling. This was as high stakes as it got and Bonnie wasn't ready for the fall out, for the war, that would come if she wasn't as all-in as he was. If she hesitated, would he snap her neck?

_I will respect your decision_, he had said. But could she trust that?

_Am I ready to be in love again?_ Bonnie asked herself. _With a monster? With a demon with a death sentence hanging over his head?_

To love him in the days – no, hours – he had left; would she survive?

More importantly, would it be worth it?

Bonnie remembered the way he kissed her in the ballroom, slowly and sensually, like he had been starving for her, and though – maybe it would be.

**KB**

Klaus watched Bonnie go. He savored her taste in his mouth, knowing that it was the last time he would taste it.

_She couldn't decide_, he thought furiously, _whether he was worth loving or not_.

Well, he would just have to make that decision for her. He was going to force her hand. He couldn't take the waiting: it was driving him insane, laying himself on the line time and time again only to be burned – literally and figuratively.

_To be loved by someone good_.

He wouldn't give her the option of loving him at all.

He was going to show her exactly who he was. Exactly the kind of monster he could be.

I could never love you, she would say – and he would know it's because he forced her not to.

When she rejected him – when she cowered in fear of him – he would know that it's because _he_ wanted it that way. He could live with the blind belief that he could have made her love him – if he hid himself, presented himself in a favorable light – he could have done it.

He needed that belief. He couldn't let her shatter it. He needed to hang on to it for the millennia that would follow, and the Bonnie Bennetts that may come around to mend the damage that she did to him.

No, whatever love she may have for him – whatever feelings she may have growing, he would kill them.

She could never step over to his side; she could never abandon her friends.

So he would let her go.

And he would let her go by unloading on to her enough nightmares to last her the eternity he would have to exist without her. If they couldn't be together, at least they would match – they would both be broken, lost in the darkness, unable to escape the demons that mocked the unloveable bastards of the world.

**KB**

When the doorbell rang at dawn the next morning, Bonnie was already half awake with anticipation. Tossing the covers off, she made her way to the front door in her cotton pyjamas without hesitation. Her powers had received an extreme charge from the night before, and she was still almost giddy with the aftershocks of their time together. Seeing Klaus again today would only boost her further.

Seeing Klaus today would change everything.

Flinging the door open, Bonnie's face was ready to break into a smile when she saw who stood before her and took a measured step away from the door.

"Bonnie Bennett," the Original said.

"Finn," Bonnie said slowly, having never been introduced to the vampire.

"I would like to introduce you to," he stepped aside in one smooth motion, ever formal, as if he were dancing.

And in his place stood Esther.

"My mother."

"Miss Bennett," Esther nodded at her, and Bonnie couldn't help the way her eyes narrowed at the resurrected witch. "Lovely to meet you at last."

"What do you want?" Bonnie crossed her arms in front of her chest, sticking her chin up and trying to look strong in her disheveled morning attire.

"I have brought you a gift."

"What's that?"

"Peace," Esther smiled warmly, extending her arms. "My son will no longer be a problem to you."

A chill hit Bonnie's spine. "What are you saying?"

"_We_," Esther glanced between the three of them, "are going to kill Klaus."


	15. What Dreams May Come

**AN: Thank you for the reviews and the love! I hope you're all still having fun on this Klaus/Bonnie ride! Thank you (and wow!) to everyone who said Julie Plec or Joseph Morgan should read this; I'm pretty sure they'd be blushing their heads off at the last chapter lol! This chapter is KlausKlausKlaus. Hopefully it is as entertaining for you to read as it was for me to write **

_**What Dreams May Come**_

"I created them," Esther explained, standing awkwardly on Bonnie's front porch after the witch refused to let them in. Her icy blonde hair matched the cool tone with which she announced that Bonnie would be helping her kill her son.

"I sought to protect them from harm. I wanted them to be safe," she pat Finn's shoulder then, "I wanted them to live long, healthy lives. I had already lost so much, you see. Before we came to America, a plague had come to our village. After we arrived," she and Finn exchanged glances, "We found new kinds of horrors."

"Our brother was killed," Finn said solemnly.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie found herself saying, finding the sentiment strange since he had been dead for over a thousand years.

"I didn't realize the consequences entirely," Esther explained. "It wasn't until later that I realized the monsters I created. I didn't heed Ayanna's word: she warned me not to go against nature. She told me there would be consequences to trying to cheat death." Esther met Bonnie's eyes. "She was right. They killed indiscriminately, and have done so for centuries. I cannot rest knowing what I created and unleashed on the world. Ayanna helped me seal my body away, and we kept the connection to my spirit alive from the other side waiting for this day."

Bonnie's heart thudded in her chest. Her palms felt clammy, her skin cold all over. Esther made sense. Esther was logical. Yet, Bonnie found herself detesting every word that came out of her mouth. She found herself wanting to refute her, wanting to shout out the she was wrong, Klaus wasn't that bad – but she couldn't. Esther was right.

"With your help, I can correct the balance with nature. I can end the lives of the Originals," Esther said, "My children."

"Why do you need my help?" Bonnie asked. Elena had made it sound like Bonnie could sit back and passively allow Klaus to be killed. The thought of actively participating in Klaus' death had once brought her a sick adrenaline rush and twisted joy at the prospect of freeing her friends. Now, with the ghost of his lips still haunting her skin, and the sound of his voice so loud in her head – _I will love you _– Bonnie felt nothing but dread.

"My connection to Ayanna is restricted to when we are both on the other side," Esther explained, "Because I have passed, I have no earthly magical connection. I need to be bound to another power source – another witch's line."

"You have no descendants." Bonnie surmised.

"Correct," Esther said, and Bonnie realized that it was supposed to be Rebekah – she was supposed to carry on the Mikaelson's witch line, but she had no powers. Which meant one could not be a witch and a vampire at once.

_Poor Rebekah_ – Bonnie almost felt sorry for her. The blonde's insecurities made sense to Bonnie now – if she felt like she was incomplete, missing something, not quite completely there – it was because she was. Her own mother had severed her connection to the Earth and to her magic. _At least Abby left me that._

"We would like to use your line," Finn's voice brought Bonnie's attention back.

"Why mine?" Bonnie asked, shifting awkwardly. Find someone else, she wanted to say. I don't want to be a part of this anymore. _I want to curl up in Klaus' bed_, Bonnie realized, _and wake up when it's over. When Elena and Stefan are safe, and the only one who is hurting and unhappy and heartbroken is me._

"The Bennett witches are the last of Ayanna's line," Esther said with a smile, reaching out to clutch Bonnie's hand, "A connection to your lineage would not only be the strongest; it would also be an honor for me. Ayanna was my closest friend."

_And yet you ignored her warnings_, Bonnie wanted to snort.

"What do you need from me?" she asked instead.

"Your presence," Esther said. "This is a huge undertaking. You must participate in the spell with me; it will bind our powers."

Bonnie hesitated, and she watched Esther watch her. The older woman's blue eyes pinned Bonnie, and though they appeared kind, the words she spoke were anything but. Bonnie's mother had abandoned her, yes, but she had never tried to kill her. Yet, Bonnie conceded, a thousand years of watching your kids murder innocents might change your motherly instincts.

And then it hit her.

"It's you," Bonnie said, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. "You're the reason I can't recuperate. You're the reason my power is weak."

Esther smiled at the girl, as if she was proud that Bonnie had figured it out.

"It started the night your coffin opened," Bonnie thought out loud, "You did the linking spell, but you needed earthly magic to do it. I was at the party." She gasped. _I was with Klaus._

Bonnie's entire body chilled. The more time she spent with Klaus, the more powerful Esther got – the closer he was to his death.

_I will kill him_, Bonnie had told Rebekah.

_Not in the way you think_, Rebekah had responded.

If only she knew how right she was.

"That's right," Esther said, squeezing Bonnie's hand. "I have been funneling your magic when it's at its strongest." Bonnie blinked at the unapologetic woman before her. "I knew our intentions matched; that you wouldn't mind. You want Klaus gone as much as I do."

"I—" Bonnie frowned. _Don't do it,_ Bonnie's heart yelled.

_You will never get over it – killing the man you love. _

_But will you get over Elena's death? Her life as a blood bag? What about Jenna? Tyler?_

_You're the only one who will mourn him_, she thought. _You can take it; if it will keep them safe_.

Bonnie choked back a sob. She couldn't kill Klaus. She couldn't.

_Think of all the lives you'll save._

She couldn't stop his death, either.

"What _exactly_ do you need from me?"

**KB**

Klaus woke with Bonnie on his mind. Her scent still lingered in the sheets. He remembered the feel of her skin against him like he remembered sunshine.

He would tell her everything today, he thought. And he would lose her forever.

**KB**

"I can't," Bonnie called Klaus as soon as Esther and Finn left, "meet you anymore."

"Why not?" Klaus asked snippily. "We had a deal."

"Something came up," Bonnie said dismissively.

"_I_ am the only thing that comes up," Klaus deadpanned. "You have no greater enemies."

Bonnie paused, a smirk pulling at her lips. "Are you trying to threaten me into dating you?"

"Why are you avoiding me?"

_Because the weaker I am, the longer you live._

Bonnie continued to levitate all of the items in her kitchen, swirling them around and re-enacting scenes from Beauty and the Beast in an effort to wear her Klaus-charged magic down.

"Because," Bonnie said.

"Because what?" Klaus barked back.

"Because I've decided," Bonnie snapped, "It's a waste of time. My feelings for you are inconsequential. I'd rather squash them right now."

A beat.

An exasperated sigh. "Love, if I want to see you, I will see you."

"Don't," Bonnie said quickly, her concentration faltering, causing a few pans to crash to the floor. "I don't want to see you."

"Did I ask what you wanted?" Klaus said.

"You did last night."

"And you wanted to see me last night."

"Why are we dwelling in the past?" Bonnie said, "I should get back to plotting your death."

She could practically hear his grin on the other side of the phone, "I agree. Ever hear the old adage, "know they enemy"? Spend the day with me, and I will be dead in no time."

_You have no idea_.

**KB**

Klaus was at her doorstep half an hour later.

Bonnie was mid-brush, her mouth filled with toothpaste when she heard his knock on the door. She tried to ignore him, but his presence made her tense.

Instead, she tried to wait him out. She took her time donning a strapless white linen dress but left her wavy hair to fall loosely around her shoulders. She took her time packing her purse: cell phone, car keys, first aid kit. She made her coffee and drank it slowly at the breakfast bar – the last sip was cold and left a bitter taste in her mouth. She read the newspaper – scanned the headlines and then the obituaries, out of habit.

Then, when she thought it safe to leave, she dropped the kitchen salt in her purse and headed to her car.

When Bonnie swung open the door, part of her was startled with the image before her – and the other part was shocked that he had stood there waiting at all.

Klaus was wearing a white linen shirt with the cuffs undone and rolled up over dark khaki slacks. He was leaning against her porch railing and straightened up when she stepped outside.

"What are you doing here?" she deliberately kept her voice monotonous as she locked the door behind her. He tried to make eye contact, but she looked away.

"We had a deal," Klaus reminded her, taking a step towards her.

"You shouldn't have come," Bonnie said, and she couldn't help the sadness that filled her voice. She averted her eyes, reminding herself to stick to the plan – do not give in.

Klaus frowned. This wasn't the reception he had expected. She was speaking to him as if he were a stranger, as if nothing had happened between them at all.

"What's wrong?" Klaus asked gently, sliding his hand into hers. As he intertwined their fingers, Bonnie barely stifled a sob. _Go away_, she wanted to scream. Who knows how much of a charge he had already given her, just standing outside her door? Waiting for her like a jilted lover come to make amends. She focused her energy on making the items in her bedroom hover, hoping to dispel some of the magic and weaken her abilities before Esther came calling.

"Hey," Klaus said, tugging her hands and pulling her closer to him. He linked her limp arms around his waist, and he wasn't sure if her lack of protest was out of interest in him or indifference to him. "What's going on?"

Bonnie leaned her forehead against his chest and surprised herself with the warmth that rose up in her own at the small contact. _Don't give it away now, Bennett. You've made your bed – now lie in it._

"Nothing," Bonnie said. "I suppose I'm scared."

Which was true enough. She was scared – of playing a part in Klaus's murder, of betraying him and never getting over it, of betraying Elena and her friends and living to regret it, of living her life and never really living at all.

"Of me?" Klaus' body stiffened, his voice sounded distant. She tightened her arms around him. _Just a few more seconds_, she thought. And then she would let go. Then she would leave.

"No," Bonnie admitted honestly. "Of us."

"Don't worry," Klaus said ominously. "_Us_ will be resolved today."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Bonnie whispered. Now that he was here, she couldn't bring herself to let go. All she could think was, _this is the last time. This is the last time I will hold him._

"It can't wait any longer," Klaus said sternly. He took a step back and found himself annoyed at how beautiful he thought her. Even without make up, with her lashes damp with tears, she was breathtaking.

"You're all dressed up, too," Bonnie said, a small laugh sounding on her lips between the sniffles.

Klaus smiled, and Bonnie almost forgot whatever thoughts she had been collecting. "I do have a sense of occasion."

"I'm sure," Bonnie found herself smiling back.

They beamed at each other for a moment longer – her arms around his waist, his hand caressing her cheek. Their eyes were locked, and neither wanted to move – neither wanted to face the inevitable day that lay before them.

_Today Bonnie will stop caring for me_, Klaus thought.

_Today I will kill Klaus_, Bonnie thought.

And yet, the sun shone down on them like nothing tragic waited at all. Birds chirped around them, and the gentle breeze tickled the wind chimes that hung in her window.

"Shall we?" Klaus asked, drawing back and extending a hand for her to take.

Bonnie met his eyes and he was surprised that the tear-filled orbs had suddenly become hard and determined. She took a deep breath, and then, instead of responding, she flung his body against the front door.

Klaus groaned from his place on the ground, but was standing up quickly.

Bonnie zapped him with an aneurysm that was more a bad headache to the Original, but it was all she could muster as she reached into her purse for the kitchen salt. When she extracted it, she began mumbling in Latin, spilling it at the porch stairs.

Klaus' eyes widened as he realized what she was doing: she was trapping him with salt, one of the few barrier spells that worked against an Original.

He charged at her, but she raised one hand and flung him back against the wall. She kept her arm extended and held him there as she levitated the salt all around the porch.

He roared out at her, his eyes turning that vicious vampire black. But she pinned him with the seriousness of her own: vibrant green and uncompromising, she glared at him as the salt finished circling around the porch and fell, empty, at her feet.

"I told you not to come," Bonnie told him, and her voice didn't sound like the girl he had come to know. It sounded like the girl he had faced in the school gym – the girl who chanted spells to kill him.

"We had a deal," Klaus said back, his lips pulling back to that angry pout as he returned her intense gaze.

"I told you," Bonnie reminded him through gritted teeth as she made her way to her car. "Something came up."

"What could possibly be more important?" Klaus said smoothly, though she could hear the fury underneath his words.

Bonnie squinted at Klaus, as if she were seeing him for the first time, and said the only answer that would be acceptable to everyone in their lives but the two persons standing there, each simultaneously saying to the other their own sort of goodbye: "Everything."

**KB**

Bonnie left town.

She drove to a mall two towns over and parked her car. Then she took a thirty minute walk to a small, busy cafe and chose a seat in a corner in the back. Then she pulled out her grimoire and she read.

Or, she tried to read. Because all she could think of was Klaus, and how he would be dead next week. Klaus, and how she would inadvertently play a role in his demise. Klaus, and how she was forced to spend their last day apart.

And there was no spell that could cure that.

**KB**

Klaus called Idina and was free in ten minutes. He tried Tyler first, but the young hybrid was nowhere to be found. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen him since before the ball. Perhaps he should be concerned about that, but he had bigger things to think about.

"The witch did this to you, eh?" Idina asked, arching a perfect, red brow at him. She had compelled a neighborhood kid to break the salt circle, ending the spell.

"What gave it away," Klaus said, "The fact that this is her house, or the fact that she is the only witch in town?"

"The fact that you're dressed up and have that dopey love sick look on your face."

"Careful."

"You be careful," Idina snapped back. "Our strength as hybrids comes from the strength of our leader. Don't become some love sick pup chasing after a mortal. Be a wolf."

"I am a wolf." Klaus frowned, his eyes flashing yellow for emphasis.

"No, you're a little bitch," Idina muttered, zooming off before Klaus could respond. Because, they both knew, if she wasn't heading towards Bonnie, he wasn't going to follow.

Klaus wolfed out after their conversation. He put his nose to the ground, literally, and followed her scent two towns away. He found her car first, and then her cafe. She sat with her back to a window, but he would recognize her scent anywhere – even over the hormones of the teenagers that filled the place.

He considered approaching her in broad daylight; letting the wolf in him take over, and showing her exactly what it meant to toy with an Original. He would go for the boys first: women squirmed more, screamed more, and would tremble more at the increasingly certain prospect of their brutal deaths. Well, women that weren't Bonnie. Knowing her, she would face even his wolf head on and try to tell him to sit and stay.

He also considered becoming his dashing self again, but didn't particularly enjoy the idea of marching nude into the cafe and having to compel every patron in there to forget who he was.

So he sat outside, stared at Bonnie's back, and waited.

**KB**

Bonnie could feel her powers increasing. It was incredibly frustrating being stalked, especially considering she was trying to escape him for his own good. She finished her third latte before taking a deep breath and facing her fate. She left the cafe.

She scoffed at the wolf that growled at her from behind Klaus' yellow eyes. He was ferocious, it was true. He flashed his teeth at her, and didn't seem able to control the low growl that shook his large body. But Bonnie merely rolled her eyes and walked on.

_Go ahead and try_, her gait said.

He stalked her all the way back to her car.

He was dangerous. He could barely control the instincts of the wolf, let free at last. He wanted to tear her apart: he wanted to attack the fragile mortal. But more than that – he wanted to be the one in control, the one calling the shots between them. Because no matter how much Klaus the man tried to deny, fight or manipulate it, Klaus the wolf had long ago chosen who he wanted by his side. And if he couldn't have her, no one could.

Bonnie was fuming by the time she reached her car. She shot the wolf a meaningful glare before purposefully nodding for him to get inside. When he didn't move or transform, she put her hands on her hips and pinned him with her eyes.

"Get in."

He growled.

"I just wanted to be alone," Bonnie snapped. "What don't you get about that?"

He gnashed his teeth at her.

"I'm not going to leave a pissed off werewolf in an unsuspecting town," Bonnie bit out. "So get in the car. You wanted to see me, right? Well, good. You win. You can see me."

Klaus eyed her for another minute, staring into her green eyes. He was too infuriated to guess at what she was playing at. Besides, she did have a point – he was getting what he wanted.

He nudged her into the back seat first, sinking his teeth into her leg. She winced and gritted her teeth as her blood stained the hem of her dress. She grabbed his fur instinctively, twisting it in her fist, but he sank his teeth deeper, pulling her towards the car. She took his hint and crawled in.

Klaus was inside seconds later.

Then he transformed back into himself, locked the door, and leaned back, a strange smile on his face as his tongue darted out to lick her blood off of his wet lips. His eyes were glazed over, still flickering between hybrid yellow and vampire black. He placed two hands behind his head and reclined in his naked glory, not noticing the witch gawking over her injury in the corner. He was high on blood and victory.

"It's still..." Bonnie panted, and he seemed to remember he wasn't alone. His eyes snapped to her, and she almost flinched under his gaze as his face seemed to settle on the appropriate visage.

Vampire. Her blood was leaking out with each heart beat, staining her white dress red and tempting him with the promise of something altogether too _magical_ to resist.

"Bonnie," he said, almost in warning. _As if she could stop herself bleeding! _She braced against the car door, as if she could escape him by crowding against a corner. She tried to fiddle with the handle, but it wouldn't budge. _Child lock._

He grabbed her leg, and Bonnie shot a hand out, trying to slam him against the other side of the car, but he didn't budge.

"I'm prepared," Klaus said, "You can't catch me unawares with your magic." Besides, he had a healthy dose of that magic blood running through him, making him _stronger_, more manic.

"Stay away from me," Bonnie warned, but her voice carried little threat. "Just leave me alone!"

"Now, now," Klaus said, grabbing her by her injured leg and drawing her closer until it was draped over his lap. He bent one knee up, bringing the gashed wound closer to his lips. Bonnie shifted, trying to knee him in the face, but he held her steady. "We had a deal."

"So you keep saying," Bonnie spat. "But I have no interest in getting to know you." He lowered his mouth to her leg, like she wasn't even talking, and she flinched. "Especially not _now_."

Klaus licked her wound, knew she was digging her nails into her skin to resist the urge to scream or fight back uselessly. She was probably pooling her energy, feeding off him even as he was feeding off her. But he couldn't think, and he couldn't stop. He closed his mouth over her wound and sucked. He gripped her leg and shoved the dress skirt aside, brought the injury to his mouth like a fine wine, closed his eyes and savored. His tongue dipped in, and he barely registered her frantic, adrenaline-filled ramblings.

All he could hear was her heartbeat as it pumped more of her blood into his mouth.

She tasted like heaven. She tasted exactly as he'd imagined: sweet and addictive and delicious. Her blood spilled onto his lips and he leaned back, swiping his tongue over it, not wanting a drop to go to waste. He was dizzy from her blood, dizzy from his manic need to claim, to control, to have – and the fact that he had been rewarded at the end of his wolf hunt with a vampire treat only served to push his insanity further.

_Mine_, he thought as he focused on her heartbeat.

And then he was overcome with gratitude: that she would let him drink her like this.

And then he was overcome with realization: that he was naked, and her bleeding leg was cradled up to his mouth, resting on his undeniable arousal.

When he finally turned to Bonnie, his eyes still hazy and his smile sated but hungry for something else, he was shocked to find her mouth agape, her features twisted in horror.

"Bonnie," Klaus began.

"No," she said, staring at her leg like she couldn't believe it. She summoned her powers again, and he felt her try to hit him with an aneurysm. It felt like a tickle at the top of his spine. He was too high on his own power, his own hybrid instincts, too satisfied and recharged with her special witch's brew, to be affected.

So she turned her green eyes to him, filled with fury and... was that... betrayal?

"Bonnie," He tried again.

"Don't," she said, trying to pull her leg away, but he kept her anchored there. "This is sick," she spat at him, "You're sick."

"You didn't want this," he said, and her face twisted into an expression he could only describe as hate.

"You attacked me!" she said, her voice still tinged with disbelief.

"You betrayed me." Klaus returned.

"If this were... If we were..." she stumbled for words, trying to pull her leg back even as he began sliding the skirt of her dress up further to reveal more of her round, brown thighs.

"But we're not mortals," Klaus reminded her, placing a delicate kiss to the inside of her thigh. "And this was a mere sip compared to what I could have done."

"You _fed_ from me," Bonnie snarled at him, pulling her leg away again. He let her this time.

Now it was his turn to look confused: "Isn't that what you have been doing all this time? _Feeding_ from me, to kill me?"

"I didn't hurt you," Bonnie snapped.

Klaus laughed humorlessly. "Yes, I very much enjoy being burned to a crisp."

"That's different," Bonnie frowned. "I have to kill you. You know that."

Klaus' eyes flashed dangerous then. He was on top of her in seconds, pushing her against the seat of her car. She winced in pain but bit down on the urge to scream out – her leg still throbbed, and with his weight on top of her, she could hardly think past the pain.

"I should kill you," Klaus said in a matter-of-fact voice. He was glad he had trained himself to keep the emotion from his voice. Because this was more than a reprimand from an angry victim. No, being denied Bonnie's blood with such disgust in her eyes was more rejection than he was willing to accept.

"This is who I am," he roared at her. "Get used to it."

"I don't want to," Bonnie said, and any doubts Klaus had about his plan disappeared.

_She can never love you_, he realized. He was a monster in her eyes, and nothing else. She couldn't see him past the vampire or the werewolf – she could only see him as what he always ever was to her. A threat. A problem that needed solving.

"It had to be done," Klaus barked, reaching his own wrist up to his mouth. He bit himself as brutally as he could, enjoying how she flinched at the sound of his flesh tearing. He held hit over her mouth. She tried to squirm away, tried to refuse the blood. He watched his blood drip onto her cheek, her chin, her lips – little red drops coloring the corners of her mouth. Then he added pressure to her wounded knee until she gave up.

_I'm going to make you hate me_, Klaus thought.

"Do you know what happens?" Klaus said, pressing his wrist right against Bonnie's lips until she gasped at the pain and he could slide a few drops down her throat. "When a witch and a vampire exchange blood?"

Bonnie's eyes shot to his then. Fierce and angry. He pushed his wrist more tightly against her lips and she squirmed, even as she felt her wound closing up. Even as she knew he was helping her, saving her, healing her, she squirmed: because, for the first time in a long time, she felt distrust. She felt, like she didn't know the man above her at all.

"I thought..." she managed to choke out, averting her eyes. "You cared about me."

Klaus' eyes glazed over, and he watched her with what she could only register as hatred. "I'm not capable of such pathetic human emotions." _Care about her?_ He almost _loved_ her.

A tear slid from Bonnie's eyes. "I'm not afraid of you," she said as he bit his closing wound open again and let more blood drop onto her lips, into her mouth. Bonnie swallowed without thinking.

Klaus tilted his head at her. "You should be."

"I was trying to save you," she mumbled incoherently, shaking her head as more tears came out. Soon, her whole body was shaking.

"I am not someone who can be saved." Klaus said ominously. Then he straightened up, and turned away from her. The way she was looking at him was starting to test his resolve.

It wasn't fear. It was closer to disappointment. The sadness of having your heart broken. Betrayal.

Had Klaus finally betrayed someone he loved? Had he betrayed his own desires, his own needs – in one desperate moment, had he lost it all?

He gritted his teeth. _This is what you wanted_, he reminded himself. _Rejection._

"Why don't you kill me?" Bonnie's voice floated to him. He turned to see those sad, appraising eyes and had to choke back the regret that clutched at his heart with cruel, cold tentacles.

"I may still," Klaus said.

"Not if I kill you first," Bonnie said, but her threat was empty. As long as he had her blood in his system, he was too powerful for her to kill. _But there was always Esther_...

And then she started laughing. Giggling. When he frowned, she only laughed harder.

"Would you believe," Bonnie snickered, "That I was trying to save you? Every time I try to kill you, you let me go. The one time I try to keep my distance, try to protect you from me, you almost kill me."

"First, I didn't almost kill you," Klaus said, sounding all the more catty with his snippy accent. "Second, I am not the one who needs protecting."

Bonnie frowned at him, and he could have kicked himself for finding it adorable. Her eyes were lighting up, darting across the car – he could practically see her mind whirring to figure out what was going on. His blood was beginning to seep into her system, beginning to activate his plan.

"Why am I delirious?" Bonnie scrunched up her nose.

"Because I'm inside you," Klaus smiled wickedly. "And soon, you will see more of me than you ever wanted."

"More than I'm seeing now?" Bonnie glanced pointedly at his state of nakedness.

Klaus smirked, but didn't reply. He didn't have to – she closed her eyes soon enough, trying to deal with the drunken feeling that came with a dose of vampire's blood, all the stronger because he was so old and so powerful.

He shifted into the driver's seat and took her to the Mikaelson mansion. His original plan was to leave her to sleep it off somewhere neutral – preferably in her own home, where he would be prevented from entering and changing his mind – prevented from trying to reverse the events that he started.

But he couldn't abandon her on her porch.

And he couldn't get ahold of Tyler to demand he take her inside.

So he took her back to the mansion, set her down in his bed, and enveloped her in covers.

Then he took a seat opposite her, opened a bottle of tequila, and watched, waiting for the dreams to overtake her.

**KB**

Klaus was running. There was a body in his hand, a young boy. His heart was beating: there were trees everywhere. It was late at night. There was something chasing him. He was afraid.

Something howled in the background.

The metallic scent of blood hit his nose and disgusted him.

His heart was beating.

"Henrik is dead," she heard him realize as his feet hit the ground again and again. His brother stirred in his arms, and tried to speak, but all that could be heard was the gurgling sound of someone choking on their own blood.

"Henrik is dead," she heard Klaus's voice – so innocent, so young, so distant and yet so close, like it was sounding from her own chest. "I'm sorry, father."

The image of Mikael filled Bonnie's mind. It stayed with her as she watched his reaction. As she watched a younger, naive version of Esther fall to her feet in tears, she could only think of the scorn in Mikael's eyes. The hatred. She had seen that look before – she had seen it in Klaus' eyes when he felt someone had betrayed him.

Then Mikael punched Klaus, and Bonnie could taste his blood again, rising up in the back of her throat. He beat Klaus until there was nothing: there was no light through swollen eyes, there was no movement free of pain, there was no love left in his heart for either his father or his self.

For the longest while, there were no thoughts. Only emotions. Grief over the loss of his brother, and the love – the heavy, extreme love – he had felt for him. Mourning that he was not allowed to express, not allowed to feel – he didn't deserve to feel sorry for something he had caused. So he buried it under layer after layer of guilt until he could feel nothing at all anymore.

And he didn't think about it – didn't decipher how he felt, didn't speak to Rebekah when she cried against his shoulder and asked him if he was ok. He relived the sensation of carrying Henrik over and over and over again, followed by the sharp crack of Mikael's fist against his face.

_I deserve it_, she heard him think at last.

And before she could argue with his memory, everything changed.

**KB**

The original doppelganger looked exactly like Elena. Which shouldn't have surprised Bonnie – she had seen her before, in her dreams. But the way she looked alive and laughing and dancing in Klaus' memory, Bonnie couldn't help but think – this was Elena. Before her parents died, before things got complicated.

And she felt Klaus' feelings for her as he watched her dancing with Elijah around a bonfire to the sound of drums and whistles.

They welled up in his chest, and Klaus only bothered to identify them with cave-man accuracy: _happiness_, _laughter_, _light_.

Bonnie couldn't figure out if he loved _her_, or if he was jealous that she could be so many things he never could. Just as the memory faded, she heard one more.

_Beloved._

**KB**

Mikael killed him.

He woke him up in the middle of the night and demanded that he join the rest of the family in the living room. Through Klaus' eyes, Bonnie saw them all: Kol, disheveled and excited, anticipating something of a surprise; Rebekah, tired and grumpy, frowning in a corner; Finn standing beside his mother with his eyes cast down but clear and awake; and Elijah, taking his place beside their father.

Through Klaus's eyes, she saw their shock. Kol's eyes widened. Elijah and Finn exchanged a glance as Esther held them back. Rebekah screamed.

Mikael had run a dagger through his body. And unlike the bodies that would follow, he took it out and plunged it in again. He met Klaus' eyes as he twisted the blade against his heart.

Again, she was flooded with Klaus' emotions that went unchallenged, unanalyzed and unsorted. Shock. Betrayal. Anger. Adrenaline. He wanted to fight back. He wanted to give in. He wanted to hate Mikael, but the only ferocity he could summon was dwarfed by how small he felt. How insignificant. How useless.

_Rebekah_, he thought at last inanely. _Who will accompany her on her walks_?

_Kol_, he realized groggily. Kol could be a better Klaus than Klaus.

_I had to kill him first_, she heard Mikael's voice drift through the darkness before Klaus finally stopped struggling and gave in to the only true death he would ever know. Mikael was speaking to Esther, and Bonnie could register the shift in the room: the way everyone realized that Mikael had said _first_. The way Esther nodded, as if she agreed with him.

_Relief_, Klaus thought as he closed his eyes at last. To die is such a relief.

**KB**

Tatia was dead. Elijah mourned her. Klaus felt ashamed that he grieved over her, too – like he was intruding on something private that belonged to Elijah alone.

_I don't deserve it_, Klaus thought. So, he kept his sadness locked up.

**KB**

Klaus cried over the first person he killed. He stalked him for days, remembering the scent like he had been haunted by it.

_It was him_, Klaus thought. The one who killed Henrik.

When he got him alone, he let instinct take over. He devoured him – he slid a knife across his throat and fed. He looked him in the eyes and let him see exactly who was taking his life.

But when the instincts calmed, when he took a step back and realized exactly what he had done – what he had been wanting to do since he was turned – Klaus fell to his knees and cried.

The boy looked exactly like Henrik.

**KB**

Klaus was standing over Esther's body. He had killed her. He was covered in her blood. He had killed his own mother.

Her blood, he was covered in her blood – and for the first time since he had turned, the scent repulsed him.

Then there was the wolf: it was battling in him, fighting behind his eyes for release. She had cursed him, trapped him. Good, she should be dead. He had murdered, he should have been free to turn. But she had locked him up, she had denied him, she had lied to him. Betrayal. No pack, he would never have pack.

Klaus was alone.

He tried to beg her back to life.

When she didn't budge, he threw up at the sight of her – lifeless, destroyed.

Klaus sat in the darkness and cried.

**KB**

Klaus saw his biological father at the funeral. He knew him by the way he cried.

_Like a child_, Mikael had said with scorn. He had eyed the werewolf with undisguised anger. He didn't want him to be here, didn't think he should be here. The hatred between them was clear.

Klaus had seen the man before.

And when he realized where, he felt cold all over. He thought back to the first boy he killed – the boy who had killed Henrik – and realized that, for the second time in his life, he had killed his own brother. The son of his father.

Except this time, he didn't cry.

His numbness chilled even Bonnie.

**KB**

Mikael had killed him, and he wanted to kill him again. More him than any of his other children.

_Because Klaus is evil_, he had come to rationalize. Finn, Elijah, Rebekah and even Kol could be entrusted to respect humanity. They were, after all, his flesh and blood. But Klaus had to die. Klaus, simply, had to die.

The saddest part was, when Mikael finally attacked, Klaus wasn't the least bit surprised.

**KB**

Klaus staked Finn and locked him up in a coffin. They had destroyed the white oak tree, had tracked down the remnants, and were burning them when Finn had threatened to take his own life.

Finn hadn't been the same since he had turned. He had drowned himself in women at first – he had seduced his fair share, and even turned one or two. But after he turned Sage, and saw how easily she took to the vampire life, he realized what he had become. He sank into himself. He never spoke.

So when he raised the last jagged piece of white oak above his heart, and made his move, Klaus stopped stirring the oak ashes with the dagger Ayanna had enchanted, and plunged it into Finn's heart, intending to momentarily stun him.

His brother fell to the ground instead.

Klaus was shocked. He pulled the dagger from him, and watched as Finn gasped his way back to the waking world.

Then, before the others walked in, he staked him again even as he began to formulate an explanation to cover his tracks.

The desperation clutched at him. He couldn't lose them, he thought frantically, and he couldn't lose Finn to his depression. He had to keep them all together. He just had to keep them all together and wait until it was safe.

I'll have them back, he thought, when they're safe.

**KB**

He sought help for the curse back in Europe. Ayanna had explained to him the intricacies of the curse and what he needed to break it. Tatia had had a child, she said – Esther had seen to it that the woman she chose for the spell already had a family line she could likewise enchant. It was Ayanna's helpfulness that kept her safe from Klaus' fangs.

Bonnie watched as he approached witches and warlocks for centuries, jumping between continents to find more information, to track down Tatia's child.

Bonnie watched as he began to realize the futility of his efforts.

_One man cannot do it alone_, Elijah had told him.

_That's what you're here for_, Klaus had returned.

_We need a different approach_, his brother explained. And Bonnie watched as, for the centuries leading up to Elena's birth, Klaus began to spread the rumours of the "sun and moon" curse.

**KB**

Klaus killed indiscriminately. At first, he went after bad people only – men who abused and attacked others. Men who reminded him of his father.

Then, he went after any men – refusing to hurt women, a remnant of his upbringing.

But pretty soon after Finn's stabbing, Klaus killed anyone and anything he felt like. He indulged in women's bodies as much as in their blood. He began turning people he wanted to keep in his life – without their permission, without a second thought as to how they would survive in the sunlight. Even after the first few died, he kept turning whoever he thought could keep him company.

But they all left him, every last one. The only person he could keep by his side was Rebekah.

So he stopped getting to know them. He still indulged in their bodies in whatever way he pleased, and then he forgot about them. Sometimes, he drained them dry, and Bonnie was disgusted by the indifference he felt to their panting breaths – to their last words he barely registered. Other times, he left them alive but compelled, having lost large gaps of time from their lives. When those women saw him in the streets after and didn't turn to him with recognition in their eyes, Klaus wished that he had killed them. Unloved _and_ forgotten.

And yet, unlike his siblings, he had yet to kill an unsuspecting human out of anger.

Torture someone for information or revenge, sure. Klaus would do anything to protect his family.

Kill someone as he fed? Well, he had to eat to survive.

But did he go around snapping necks of girls with handsome boyfriends as Rebekah did? No, he didn't. Did he laugh as he broke bones, bruised skin and counted how many ways he could kill without drawing blood – as Kol did? No, he didn't.

_I'm not a monster_, Bonnie heard himself chant for years.

But soon enough, even he was unconvinced.

**KB**

Klaus was a master of torture. He learned it over the years out of necessity: he needed information and he needed it fast. He had to evade and avoid Mikael, and to do that, he had to have people's respect and love, or their fear.

It was easier for Klaus to be feared.

At first, he may have hoped to share the burden with his brothers, but they quickly deferred to him.

"You're better at it," Elijah would say, as if it were beneath him, even as he wiped blood from his lips with his victim's handkerchief.

"I don't have the patience," Kol would explain, insisting (and proving) that he would kill them before they made their confessions.

Neither considered what a burden it would be on Klaus. Already so unloveable, with so little light in his life, becoming this beast – this _monster_, would really stamp out his humanity.

But Klaus was a monster and, with his compassion lost, he became very, very good at being a monster.

His mother stole his wolf, and he gave his siblings his humanity.

All that was left in Klaus was a merciless, hungry predator: a vampire.

**KB**

Klaus staked Kol when he was approximately 517 years old. To "celebrate" his 500th year as a vampire, Kol and Rebekah engaged in a killing spree in India. They returned to the out-of-the-way home covered in blood, their mouths and tongues red and delighted.

"They've done nothing to you," Klaus had frowned.

"They exist," Kol had shrugged, "What other reason do I need?"

"You should only kill when feeding," Elijah had explained. But it lacked the moral conviction Bonnie had assumed he had: instead, he seemed to be saying – waste not, want not.

"Or when you're protecting your family," Klaus had added.

Rebekah had cowered and begged forgiveness. "I was wrong," she said before retiring to her room.

"And you?" Klaus turned to his brother, overcome with anger.

Kol had rolled his eyes at his brother. "I'm immortal. Death is meaningless."

"There are only so many places we can hide," Klaus bit out. "Mikael will discover us."

"And he will kill none of us," Kol taunted, high on fresh blood, "But you."

Klaus staked him without a second thought.

**KB**

There was a doppelganger before Katherine. Klaus didn't know her name. He stalked her for three nights before making his move. He cornered her in an alley in Spain and was about to win her over with his charm (and a dash of compulsion) when, from out of nowhere, she produced her own dagger and killed herself.

_Death before dishonor_, they had said of her in the obituaries.

"Wasted," Klaus had spat at her, "I would have killed you myself anyway."

He felt no remorse. He watched her bleed out. He promised her, in graphic detail, what he would do to her loved ones.

Klaus always kept his promises.

**KB**

The Katherine years passed in a blur. Elijah was taken with her. Klaus was euphoric at the prospect of breaking the curse. When she outwitted him, he was so angry that he and Elijah separated – each searching her out for different, conflicting reasons.

They didn't speak again until Elijah turned up in Mystic Falls.

**KB**

Klaus made his way to Mystic Falls shortly after the end of the war.

He tortured Emily Bennett until she revealed that the doppelganger was not, in fact, in the tomb.

And all the while, he rocked Emily's child in his arms – an infant who cried every time her mother screamed.

Bonnie wanted to throw up – both at the things she witnessed being done to her ancestor, and at the lack of feeling Klaus had about any of it. As if he had done it a million times before. As if he had no feelings at all.

"You will regret this," Emily had told him as she lay bleeding and broken before him.

"I'm sure," he offered flippantly as he left.

He didn't think of her again until he saw Bonnie Bennett in the Boarding House library, flinging Damon across a wall with the same defiant glint in her eyes.

**KB**

Klaus fought in both World Wars, both times for England. He had developed a British accent in the trenches. He had done it out of loneliness, out of a need to belong.

Though, when Rebekah had asked from her hide-away in Australia, where she did her nails and watched over their family in coffins, Klaus would say he did it for the love of the kill. _You can kill indiscriminately, mercilessly, and with honor in war – you would be awarded for it_. She had sneered at him and told him not to feed off of too many soldiers.

"Leave some pretty boys for me," she had said.

But really, Klaus enjoyed being part of something.

Even more, it helped him understand the tactics of war. It was where he realized exactly how he could protect them all from Mikael.

_You don't build an army after the war has begun_, he had said many times. And Bonnie discovered that he was quoting a friend – a young black soldier from a British colony a thousand miles away from home who had refused to stop training when he survived the First World War. He hadn't survived the second.

**KB**

Klaus was in awe of Stefan. He was the kind of cold, brutal beast that Klaus had always aspired to be, had wanted on his side since day one – so he could rest, so he could share the burden of the nightmare of existence with someone else.

But even Stefan was lost to him when Mikael arrived; even Rebekah was lost to him, preferring to return to Stefan's cold, cruel love than to remain loyal to the brother who had very literally killed for her.

Klaus was alone.

**KB**

Bonnie's last dream was of herself. Klaus was standing outside the room she had been staying in, listening to her breathing calm as he lingered nearby.

_To be loved by someone good._

**KB**

Klaus watched Bonnie in his bed, trembling from his dreams, but he was either unwilling or unable to rise and wake her. He watched her like he was watching a movie – the course of events had already been set, and nothing he did now could change them.

_Protect you from me_, she had said.

Didn't she know – she was the one who needed protecting?

Although, isn't that exactly what he was doing? Trying to protect himself from her? Trying to protect himself from her rejection, trying to steel himself against how she made him feel – the ridiculous things she inspired him to do.

And yet, as he downed his fifth drink of the night, Klaus couldn't help the coldness than overcame him when he thought of what he'd done.

He bit her as a wolf. He drank from her as a vampire without her consent. He attacked her with his body, and then with his memories.

There was no going back now, he realized.

He had lost Bonnie Bennett forever. He had gotten exactly what he wanted.

And yet, the cold, empty feeling at the centre of his chest wouldn't go away. The tingling sensation in his nose wouldn't fade. Soon, even the drink couldn't keep it back.

Klaus leaned back in his chair, alone in his lair, the only light in the room the small flame in the fireplace. He closed his eyes and, for the first time in centuries, he let himself cry.

**KB**

Bonnie woke with a gasp.


	16. Prelude to a Kill

**AN: Hi everyone! Thank you for your reviews (you're all so sweet and kind!), alerts and favorites. I hope you enjoy this one! It was my birthday yesterday (I'm 25! AHHH), so this is my birthday treat to all of you! I was also thinking of getting a tumblr and maybe I can follow all of you! Anyway, enough of this! I hope things don't get too confusing, but the next chapter should clear it up if it does! ENJOY!**

_**Prelude to a Kill**_

Bonnie woke with a gasp in Klaus' bed.

The hybrid's memories were still fresh in her mind.

_I had to kill him first_, Mikael had said. Because Klaus would fight back, Bonnie knew. Klaus wouldn't let him hurt the others – least of all Rebekah or Kol. Kol and Rebekah were too young to register what was going on before it was too late. Elijah may protest, but he would ultimately not suspect that his father meant to kill them all – he didn't know Mikael like Klaus did. Finn may argue, but he would ultimately defer to Esther's wishes.

And yet, Klaus had died knowing a truly terrible truth – that his own father had killed him, and that he would not hesitate in killing the rest.

Bonnie blinked her eyes rapidly to adjust to the darkness of the room. She shivered, realizing she was in one of Klaus' Henleys. Her white, blood-stained dress lay crumpled on the floor. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and felt his silk sheets slide lusciously over her exposed skin. Her wound had closed. She moved to stand, felt the silk satin sheets slide off her body, and found her legs were shaking.

Her feet hit the floor in the same moment a glass was thrown into the fireplace from across the room. It shattered in flames that shot up to engulf it.

Klaus sat in a large chair, silhouetted by the fire he faced. He tapped his fingers restlessly, and cradled his head in the other hand. As Bonnie approached, she realized he was shirtless, in sweat pants slung low on his hips. In just his shirt, she thought absently that they were a matching set.

"Klaus?" Bonnie heard herself saying, her voice rich with confusion. His memories were still fresh in her mind like nightmares.

Klaus's head turned towards her like he had been slapped. She kept walking, slowly, towards him. As if she didn't trust her legs. And he didn't move his eyes from her, as if he didn't trust his sight.

He hated himself for finding her stunning. He hated himself for forcing her to hate him. _I will deserve you_, he had promised her, and he hadn't lived up to it. He had done the opposite: he had shown her exactly how little he deserved any of her affection at all.

His entire body tensed as she ran her eyes over him. Was the room always this big? It was taking forever to reach him. _And she had to reach him_ – she was a mass of warring emotions that went unchallenged. She seemed to have adopted Klaus' approach to feelings – she didn't question them anymore, she just went where they led her until she was standing in front of him, between the Hybrid and the fire.

"Bonnie," Klaus choked out her name, gripping the arm chair as he waited for the onslaught of pain. Would she break his bones first? Would she throw him to the fire next? He was certain his memories had given her many creative options of how to break a person before you killed them.

"You've been drinking," Bonnie said, catching the scent of tequila.

Klaus nodded almost imperceptibly. He watched as Bonnie took another step toward him.

Bonnie placed a hand over each of his. He watched her small, brown fingers curl over his tense fingers and nudge them into linking. Then he let her pull his arms forward and rest his hands on her hips.

"Klaus," she said, her clouded green eyes meeting his. She was still swimming in his memories, he thought. She wasn't completely there.

But when she took another step forward, and her intentions became clear to him, it took everything in him to resist the urge to crush her to him.

Bonnie climbed on top of Klaus. She rested one knee on either side of him and slowly, slowly settled herself on top of him. Klaus wasn't sure if he could trust his alcohol-ridden mind, didn't want to scare her – _just one more moment_. He tightened his grip on her hips, but didn't move.

Then she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his chest. For a second, she was almost startled that his heart wasn't beating. Her mind was still foggy. All she knew was that she had to be near him, had to hold him, had to feel him and dispel the sorrow and sadness and death that drenched his memories.

"Bonnie," he muttered into her hair, bending down to inhale her scent.

"I'm here," she said, nuzzling her cheek against the warmth of his chest.

Her breath fanned his skin, her lips graced over it as she spoke – and Klaus couldn't take it anymore. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her.

"This doesn't make sense," Klaus said. And beyond all reason, she clutched him tighter, squeezing him with her thighs, as if she thought he would fade away.

"It's so lonely," she said, her nose sliding against his clavicle, "in your world."

_She's still lost_, he thought, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. _She hasn't realized she has woken; that she's in the monster's arms._

"Klaus," Bonnie's voice tickled his lips, and he opened his eyes to see her staring up at him.

"Yes?"

"I don't... hate you," she said, her eyes drooping as she focused on his lips.

Klaus felt his chest lighten a lot more than it should have. She hadn't said she liked him, that she still cared for him, or even that she loved him – but that she didn't hate him – well, that was something, wasn't it?

He opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped with the gentlest of kisses – her soft lips barely brushing against his. She closed her eyes as she did it, like she was sampling wine or chocolate and it needed her full attention.

"Bonnie," his voice broke on the word.

Bonnie moved her lips against his, startled by how soft they were. Had they always been this soft, this open? She slanted her mouth against his, tugging his bottom lip lightly between her own. She felt him sink into the chair, shifting their weight so her centre was balanced against his. She kissed him again like she was encouraging him to comply and, with that fluttering feeling rising in her chest, he threaded his fingers through her hair and have in. Had his mouth always been this warm, this tender?

Klaus' kiss was slow and persuasive. He slanted his mouth across hers, pulling and releasing her lips with his own, sensual as the tide. With his hand wrapped up in her hair, she leaned into his embrace, shivering at the sensation of his skin against hers. His other hand skimmed the length of her body, settling on the small of her back where he pulled her more tightly against him. She bent her knee to accommodate the shape, and found her thigh grazing against his exposed hip bone. She shuddered. He kissed her harder.

Bonnie's skin was addictive. Klaus craved that touch, sliding his hand up her shirt to trace the contours of her spine. She shivered and pressed her body closer to him. He couldn't help the sound that escaped his throat and disappeared into her mouth as she pressed more tightly against him. He was covered in her, and he equally loved and hated it. Feeling her buzzing warmth around him was hypnotic, he could forget everything but the sensation of her lips against his. But she would realize this wasn't real. And she would leave him.

He held her tighter.

Bonnie was melting in Klaus' arms. Always, when he held here like this, she felt almost, well, almost _happy_. His kiss was intense, almost desperate, certainly consuming – and she liked it. Like the feeling of being wanted. Liked the feeling of wanting back.

She was about to sigh into the kiss when the fire behind her burst into a tall, bright flame that sent a sudden, intense heat up her back. Bonnie's back stiffened, her grip against his shoulders tightened. Then she pulled back, and looked at him as he had always expected her too.

Something inside him broke when she set her eyes on him like that.

But he had expected it – hell, he had orchestrated it.

So how could he fight her when she blinked at him, as if finally waking up; as if she was finally realizing what was happening – and looked at him with _fear_.

"What..." Bonnie struggled to free herself from his grasp, to get as far away from his as possible. She fell on the floor, and kept stumbling and crawling backwards, "have you done?"

But she was gone before he could respond. And he didn't stop her.

He just sat in the darkness as, with her exit, the flame went out, and thought: _I deserve it._

**KB**

Bonnie needed air. Klaus was too much. She was a frenzy of emotions, and she didn't know which one to dissect or deal with first, so she went with the most familiar: _anger_.

He ruined everything. He was going to get himself killed! He was feeding her power. Even as she tried to run from him, tried to clumsily save him, he went out of his way to screw it all up.

Hell, she was so angry, she could kill him.

And underneath that anger was fear. Fear so raw and real it clawed at her heart until it physically _hurt_. When she felt the fire heat up against her back, she knew it. She _knew_.

Her fingers were buzzing with power, itching with it! She struggled to keep her car from levitating or bursting into flame as she drove home in the early hours before sunrise. He was turning her into the weapon his mother wanted.

And it scared her. Bonnie hated feeling scared. She hadn't felt this scared since Grams died. It was almost paralyzing. She wasn't sure if she was afraid that Esther would use her up, that she would kill Klaus, or that, in the end, he would be _gone_. Gone-gone. Never coming back.

A world without Klaus.

Bonnie clutched the steering wheel more tightly.

_No more being passive_, Bonnie thought with gritted teeth. Even if she stayed away now, even if she refused to participate, with her magic this high and free and enraged, Esther could probably just take some off the top like whipped cream, kill Klaus and probably take out a few villages too.

She couldn't stand back or stand down. If she was going to _not _kill Klaus, she had to say so. She had to face Esther and say no. And then she had to find a way to stop Esther from pulling from her family line anyway.

Because, _damn it_, even if she didn't know what the hell it was she felt for Klaus – she felt _something_, and that was enough. _That's got to be enough_, Bonnie thought as she swerved into her drive way and threw the door open, squeezing the keys so tightly in her hands she thought she might draw blood. _That's got to be enough to buy a few days – not forever, just a few days – just enough time to figure out what she was feeling_.

Even if it wasn't, Bonnie realized, she wasn't going to do it anyway.

She was not going to kill Klaus.

Bonnie was so distracted by her thoughts, that she made her way all the way to her front porch, resolute and determined, before she noticed the figure standing in the shadows. She blinked rapidly, rubbed her eyes – wondering if this could be an apparition, a figure of her own memory come to haunt hr on the heels of Klaus' memories.

But it was no dream, and it was no ghost.

"Mom?"

**KB**

Elijah woke with a start.

Something felt... off. There was a strange energy buzzing in the mansion and, though he couldn't be sure, he had an inkling it had something to do with magic.

He walked to the kitchen and found Finn on the back patio, staring up at the stars. Perhaps seeing if they had changed since he had last seen them, so many centuries before. He poured himself a glass of O negative from the fridge and was about to head back to his room when he caught sight of Esther. She was with Finn, whispering quietly to him.

"You've made the right decision," Esther said softly, but Elijah heard her.

And it was all he needed to hear.

**KB**

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie finally found the courage to ask. She had been sitting in her kitchen over cups of coffee with her mother for twenty minutes in silence. The older woman had been fiddling with a locket the entire time, snapping it open and shut. Bonnie thought she saw the image of a child inside, and for a moment, she thought it was here. But it was a boy.

"You didn't write, you didn't call," Bonnie said, surprised when her vision blurred with tears. She averted her eyes and sipped her coffee. _As if her emotions weren't a riot already..._ "Why come back now?" _When I don't need you._

Abby was surprised. "Bonnie, you... You called me."

"I didn't," Bonnie gaped.

"You summoned me," Abby said again, pausing in thought. "Didn't you?"

"You mean," Bonnie frowned, "By magic?"

"Yes."

"It was Esther," Bonnie said sharply, regretting the snippiness of her tone but not wanting to apologize for it either. "I wouldn't call you."

"I just assumed..."

"Abby," Bonnie's tongue stuck on the word. She wanted to say _mom_, had longed to say _mom_, but without the surprise of the moment, with her faculties fully around her, she couldn't. "Why did you come here?"

"I thought it was you," Abby said, and she appeared deflated. Bonnie wanted to scoff. She wanted to roll her eyes and laugh. Abby was sad she hadn't called her? Why would she call her? She had needed her growing up; had had to have the awkward period talk with her dad who pushed her off on her drunk Grams who muttered incoherently about magic and herbs. And she had done it without her.

"You just came back," Bonnie shrugged her shoulders, "Because you thought I called you?"

"Yes," Abby said, her eyes pinning Bonnie's. "I thought you had forgotten about me."

"I should have."

"Let me explain," Abby said desperately, reaching out to grab Bonnie's hand. She pulled it away.

Leaning back in her chair, Bonnie took a sip of her coffee and cut her eyes at her mother. _As if her emotions weren't in enough of a frenzy..._

"I was young," Abby's voice trembled as she remembered it. Bonnie was about to interrupt, to point out that she hadn't consented to an explanation, but the tears brimming in Abby's eyes kept her silent. Bonnie's heart clenched at the sight. "I was trying to have a normal life. A normal family. Your father was," Abby laughed drily, "_never_ around."

"That hasn't changed," Bonnie smirked. When Abby smiled, Bonnie added quickly: "But at least he always comes back."

Abby nodded. "I was friends with the Gilberts. They had a daughter, Elena..."

"I know who she is," Bonnie said, "We're best friends."

A smile ghosted over Abby's lips, but it disappeared quickly as she continued. "Someone was looking for her. Someone who wanted to kill her."

"Who?" Bonnie frowned. It couldn't be _Klaus_.

"They called him Mikael."

Bonnie spat out her coffee.

"You have heard of him?"

Bonnie nodded wordlessly.

"Elena's mom and I had grown up together. She knew about my magic. When she found out, she begged me for my help..."

Bonnie leaned forward in her chair. She wondered how much Elena's parents really knew about her and her role in the supernatural world.

"I hunted him," Abby said, her mind going back to the gritty, lonely nights on the road. "I did it alone. The Gilberts stayed in Mystic Falls. Your father stayed with you – he was against it; he was always against magic." She shook her head, "I found him in Florida. He was kind to me at first, he didn't suspect me. I was a witch, after all. I had to agree with him, he thought. Killing Elena was the only way, he said, to restore the balance to nature that vampires destroyed." She shuddered, "I remember his words like it was yesterday."

"He tried to talk you out of it," Bonnie said simply.

"Yes," Abby nodded. "But I had gone there to protect Elena. So I did it. I desiccated him, chained him up, and cursed the tomb." She met Bonnie's eyes now, and a tear slid slowly from her eye. "It took _everything_ I had."

A pause.

"What do you mean?"

"I have no magic, Bonnie." Abby said, "I haven't since that day."

Bonnie shook her head. "That doesn't explain why you didn't come back."

"I was foolish," Abby said. "I was barely older than you are now when you were born. I was unhappy in Mystic Falls, but as long as I was married to your father, I couldn't leave. I begged him to leave. I wanted to start again, somewhere where the threat of the supernatural wasn't as strong..."

"Dad would never leave Mystic Falls," Bonnie frowned.

"Not even to save our marriage."

"What about me?" Bonnie hated the way her voice cracked, hated the way her eyes welled up.

"It's complicated," Abby met Bonnie's eyes with sincerity and with fear. "I think I convinced myself that you didn't need me. You had your Dad, you had your Grams." Abby shook her head. "Without my magic, I didn't feel like myself. I didn't know if I should be happy or sad about it. I couldn't protect you. I couldn't survive in Mystic Falls without it; especially with all the demands that came from being a witch." Another tear slid down Abby's cheek and she brushed it away. "This was my chance to be normal, to have a normal life. I knew that no one would look for me. Your father didn't. Elena's parents didn't. Without my magic, no one needed me anymore. And at the same time, I felt free. Like the world was no longer on my shoulders."

"I needed you," Bonnie barely choked out. "I was three. I didn't know the first place to look!"

"You're right," Abby said simply. "I never stopped loving you, Bonnie."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Bonnie said.

"This supernatural world, it's... it's intense and scary. After the desiccation spell, I couldn't do even the simplest of spells. I couldn't go back to that world." She clutched the coffee cup closer and gave Bonnie a smirk, "I couldn't protect myself; I couldn't protect you. I was just a useless mortal."

"You could have been a useless mortal mother," Bonnie said.

"Elena was safe," Abby said. "Her parents never sought me out because, quite frankly, they didn't need me anymore. That's what being a witch was to me. I was never my own person."

"You were supposed to be _my_ person," Bonnie said quietly, though her venom was gone. Hadn't Bonnie felt the same so many times over the years? If she could give it all up and go back to being a normal teenager, would she?

No, she thought. She couldn't leave Elena or Caroline. Without her, Caroline would have no day walker ring. Though, without her Gilbert-device-plan, Caroline might not have ended up in the hospital needed Damon's blood in the first place. And Grams wouldn't be dead. But Jeremy would be. _Ugh_, Bonnie wanted to scream in frustration. There was no right or wrong when it came to her magic, she realized. There were only the people she loved, and what she could and would do to protect them.

Abby smiled sadly. "Maybe I shouldn't have come."

It was a question more than a statement. They both knew it. The moment was in Bonnie's hands. It was unfair, she thought – how was she supposed to decide? All she wanted to do was yell, storm out and slam her door like a normal teen. And then, when she emerged repentant and all cried out later, she wanted her mom to still be there. And she wanted to call her "mom".

"Esther called you," Bonnie said when she finally found her voice. "If you're going to stay," something passed between them, some understanding that had Abby unable to restrain her smile, "There are some things you should know. That world that you wanted to leave behind," Bonnie smirked, "Welcome back."

**KB**

Klaus could not sleep.

He tossed and turned in the sheets Bonnie had slept in, cursing himself for not holding her as she dreamed. He had exiled himself to the chair by the fireplace, and, in that moment, he knew no bigger regret.

_I don't hate you_, she had said, and he clung to the words with a desperation that verged on insanity. Because, it _was_ insane, wasn't it? That she could feel anything for him still, after seeing everything?

And then he saw her eyes again: that _fear_ – and new, it was over.

**KB**

Abby pulled a blanket over her daughter's sleeping form cradled in a sea of grimoires.

Where had she gotten so many grimoires, Abby didn't know. How she had gotten so entangled with vampires, Abby didn't know either. But for the first time in years, she held a small degree of hope in her heart that maybe, one day, Bonnie would tell her.

And maybe, one day, Bonnie would confide in her why she was coming home at three in the morning in nothing but a man's shirt – a man she didn't mention.

**KB**

"You look awful," Damon offered with a teasing sneer that Bonnie was sure he thought passed for cute.

"Charming as always, Damon," Bonnie muttered, sliding her sunglasses back on. She hadn't slept the night before. She had spent the evening with Abby, going through grimoires and comparing spells. Trying to find a way to block Esther's connection to the Bennett line.

Damon grinned then, obviously pleased with himself.

"Is Elena here?" Bonnie smiled sweetly as Damon's smile fell from his face at the mention of the name. He stepped aside and Bonnie entered the Boarding House.

She found Elena drinking coffee across the table from Stefan. Though they were exchanging glances, each seemed lost in their own thoughts. When Bonnie walked in, Stefan stood and moved from the table, as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Damon rolled his eyes – almost audibly – and Bonnie smirked as she took Stefan's abandoned seat.

"Bonnie," Elena greeted her friend. "Have you heard from Esther?"

"Not since we last spoke," Bonnie said, "But someone else has." She paused. "My mom's back in town."

"What?" Elena's mouth dropped into the perfect 'O'. Stefan's brow furrowed.

"Oh, Abby," Damon grinned wickedly, "Now she was a fun one."

Bonnie whipped around to glare at Damon, "What? Don't tell me you slept with her, too."

Damon snorted.

"Well, you do like to keep it _in the family_." Bonnie said.

Elena blushed. Stefan barely contained a snicker.

"Not your family," Damon said, crossing his arms and staring down at the little witch. "Guardian, remember?"

"She's not a Bennett by birth," Bonnie said, "She married into the family."

"Bennett powers are matrilineal," Damon waved his hand like it was obvious. "She is a part of _your_ line, and you inherit through Sheila. So, for all intensive purposes, she is a Bennett."

"You stalked her after she was married, didn't you?"

"Not to brag, but," Damon grinned, "I was probably there when you were conceived."

"I sincerely hope you mean lurking at the window."

Damon wiggled his eyebrows.

Elena frowned. "Damon, this is serious. Bonnie hasn't seen her mom in years."

Damon rolled his eyes, but remained silent.

"Let's give them some time alone," Stefan said, stepping outside and glaring at his brother until he did the same.

"Not like I won't be listening," Damon promised as he left.

"I wanted to talk to you," Bonnie said to her best friend. She took Elena's hand in hers. This was it. Tell Elena you're not going to kill Klaus. "I..."

"Are you okay?" Elena said when Bonnie remained silent.

"I think so," Bonnie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Abby being back, that must be so hard on you," Elena said.

"It's been alright, actually," Bonnie said, surprising both of them.

"You forgave her?" Elena's brows raised in surprise. "I mean, it's been so long since she left..."

_Trying to save you. She left trying to save you_.

"We just have a lot more in common than I thought," Bonnie realized.

"You would never leave the people you loved," Elena said, shaking her head. "You're better than that."

_But I would die for them_, Bonnie thought. _I would happily die for your safety, and not bat an eyelash._ Sure, Abby didn't _die_, and she could have come back... but she had originally left to save Elena. And that made it... not as bad.

"Elena, about Esther..."

Elena sighed. "I know it's stupid of me, but I can't help feeling bad."

"Bad?"

"About Elijah," Elena shook her head. "I know he betrayed us once, but... he did it for his family, you know? I can understand that." Bonnie nodded voraciously as Elena continued. "It feels strange to play a part in his death."

"Yes, exactly," Bonnie nodded, shocked that it could be so easy. "I feel the same."

"But don't worry," Elena added quickly. "I'm not going to tell him. I'm going to let Esther go through with it."

Bonnie's smile dropped.

"You didn't think I would tell him, did you?" Elena frowned. "Bonnie, I would never do that to you. This is the only way to kill them and keep you alive."

"We could not kill them and keep me alive," Bonnie suggested meekly.

Elena smiled like she had told a joke. But, for a second, Bonnie wasn't seeing Elena in jeans and a simply burgundy shirt with her lank hair hanging down to her waist. She saw Tatia: her hair tied up in intricate braids, in a simple white dress, looking at her with sympathy and understanding.

Then she blinked, and Elena was back.

"Don't worry," she said, "It will be over soon."

**KB**

"Ladies," Esther smiled magnanimously as Abby and Bonnie Bennett joined her in the circle of sage behind the witch's house that evening. Bonnie hadn't been there since she had resurrected Jeremy. She shifted self consciously as she neared it, knowing that she and the witches had not parted on good terms. She almost expected them to attack her, as they had Damon so long ago, but nothing happened.

"No one will hear or see us as long as we are in the circle," Esther explained. Then she smiled at Abby. "So nice to meet you, at last."

Abby stiffened under Esther's gaze. She had desiccated the woman's husband, and there she was smiling at her. "You, too."

"Explain the spell," Bonnie said, directing Esther's attention to her. She kept her face serious and stern, and the older witch nodded respectfully.

"The siblings are bound. Using your line, I will cast a spell to temporarily break their immortality. They will be susceptible to death as any other vampire would be. My eldest has volunteered to be sacrificed." Esther smiled then, and Bonnie suddenly felt like she didn't have the worst mother in Mystic Falls for once.

"Why tomorrow night?" Abby asked.

"The witch's moon," Esther and Bonnie said at the same time, causing the former to look at the other with surprise.

"It enhances a witch's power," Bonnie explained to Abby, but her eyes didn't leave Esther's. "If Esther is drawing from the Bennett line during the witch's moon at a spot where witches died a violent death, she will have enough power to kill an Original."

"But I will not go directly for them," Esther explained. "Because that would kill the witch whose power I am harnessing."

"I would die," Bonnie nodded.

"How do you know this?" Abby frowned, squeezing Bonnie's arm.

"Because I tried it," Bonnie said.

"Niklaus is not enough," Esther said. "Elijah. Rebekah. Kol. Even Finn. It pains me to see the damage they all do, even if Niklaus is the worst."

Something flashed in Bonnie's eyes then, and she had to bite her cheek to keep from snapping back. She glared at the icy woman before her and wondered how Klaus could be related to her at all. She was so cool and collected as she talked of murdering her children. Klaus was like fire: he was passionate and intense, he was at once afraid of the horrible things he had done, and desperate to be able to do more. He was spontaneous, but single-minded. Not like the woman Bonnie saw before her: so determined, so deliberate, so patient as she waited centuries for this day.

_She thought she was God_, Bonnie realized. Esther wanted to choose who lived and died and when. And though she did it under the guise of goodness, of empathy and compassion, she did it without their consent. Both when she first denied them their mortality, and now when she sought to truly end their lives.

And then the world blurred for a second and Esther wasn't standing in daylight explaining her plan. Her lips moved, but she was saying something else. She was somewhere else: somewhere dark and cold. She couldn't hear her, but Bonnie _knew_ what she was saying. _He's not your father_, she understood thought she heard nothing. _You're one of them._

Bonnie shuddered, and the world returned to normal. She squinted her eyes against the light.

"What do we have to do," Abby said, feeling Bonnie tense under her hand, "for you to draw from our power?"

"Simply be here," Esther said, keeping a careful eye on the youngest witch. "I will take care of the rest."

"There's no incantation," Bonnie suggested, "No potion, no herbs?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Esther said slowly.

They stared at each other for a moment longer, each assessing the other, in a staring contest that only ended when Abby cleared her throat and said: "We'll be here."

**KB**

Abby stayed at Bonnie's home that evening, but Bonnie had to be alone.

"I need to reconnect," Bonnie had offered as a flimsy excuse before heading out to Sheila's house. It was on the edge of town. It had had a "For Sale" sign on it for ages, but no one would buy it. It gave off an eerie, witchy vibe that scared most people, but made Bonnie feel strangely welcome. She felt a little less alone.

She picked up a Chai latte and take out on her way over.

She watched the sun set from the porch with the warm drink in hand. Here, she could close her eyes and see her own memories. She could see herself skipping up the steps, eager to show her grandmother her first missing tooth. She could see herself skinning her knee while learning to ride her bike and running inside for her grandmother to kiss it better. She could see herself bringing home three large fish from the Mystic river, on a big stick hung over one shoulder, only to have her father knock it to the ground and crush it under the heel of his boot.

Bonnie blinked. Wait, no, that last one was Klaus.

Frustrated, she ran a hand through her hair. Her mind was still swimming with his memories, and she thought, being in Mystic Falls was the worst. She didn't just see what she dreamed: she saw new memories, of new places. Leaving where the witches were burned, she saw a small hut that used to be Ayanna's home. She saw Elena/Rebekah's necklace dangling in the window, reaching out to touch it and getting burned. She was starting to think the memories would never fade – that she would always confuse Klaus with herself.

"I'm just... sleep deprived," Bonnie concluded, taking deep breaths and thinking of Grams. Thinking of her own past. "Good night Grams, I'm turning in."

**KB**

Bonnie dreamt of blood. Blood everywhere. Red, blue, purple, dark and black like a gaping hole. Neck wounds, town bodies. She saw Stefan's masterpiece work up close and personal. She felt hearts beating in her hands. Then there were the bombs: explosives, trenches. Feeding on bodies on the battlefield to keep going. Trying to turn friends, and watching them die, choosing honor over life.

Death was everyone. Death was everywhere.

It followed her with haunting accuracy. She hid in Vienna, and he came. She hid in Paris, and he came. She hid in the Congo, and he came. She spent the Civil War running a stop on the underground railroad, feeding on the nosey slave owners that came knocking. But still, he came. She tried to be good – she tried to hide out in India, even spent a decade in the South American jungle with only Rebekah for company. But still – he came.

Death followed her, and she started to see it in everyone's eyes. In Rebekah's eyes. In Bonnie's eyes. Except, she _was_ Bonnie, wasn't she?

No, she was Klaus. She was Niklaus, or Nik as Rebekah called her. She was tall and dashing in a suit. She was running, always running.

She met Stefan and there was Death in his eyes, too. But it was a different kind of death: it was the kind of death that Klaus could control, could hide behind.

But then Mikael came again. And Klaus wiped himself from Stefan's memory. He would be unmissed.

He ran. He ran, and he hid, and he tinged everything she saw in blood.

**KB**

Klaus had not heard from Bonnie since she left that morning. He had not seen her at the Grille, or at the library, or even at her house. Not that he was looking, he was just... in the neighborhood. He lingered in the Mikaelson mansion living room, but didn't hear mention of her. Rebekah and Kol went on about some childish thing or another, and even Damon's name came up, but no Bonnie. He almost had a mind to directly ask for himself, but he stopped himself.

Yet, though he hadn't heard from her, though he _knew_ it was over, he still thought of her. Tap water tasted like white wine, and the sunshine felt like brown skin.

Still, his careful discipline warned him to stop. When it came to Bonnie, there was nothing to do but wait for her attack.

So, one could imagine his surprise when, after binging on pizza delivery man before compelling him and setting him loose, Klaus saw his phone light up and buzz happily on his night stand.

_Death_, it said simply. Death was calling.

"Hello, love," Klaus smiled into the phone like nothing was wrong at all, like she was just making sure he wouldn't be late for dinner.

"Klaus," Bonnie seemed momentarily stunned that he picked up at all. "It's three in the morning."

"Is it?" Klaus quirked a brow. When she was silent, he added: "You are the one calling me in the middle of the night."

"Right," Bonnie said, and he heard her take a deep, tired breath. "I couldn't sleep."

"What has that got to do with me?"

"Where are you right now?" Bonnie said, and her voice sounded more alert. He could practically see her narrowing those judgmental green eyes.

"Not at Caroline's, if that's what you're worried about."

"I wasn't."

"Not slaughtering a village either," Klaus quipped.

"I'm at my Gram's house," Bonnie said slowly.

"Alright," Klaus frowned, not sure what she was getting at. He reclined on the bed, enjoying the sound of her frustrated ramblings on the other end, trying to make sense of this call. He wasn't sure what she wanted, and he was starting to think with sly pleasure, she didn't either. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well," Bonnie stopped speaking nonsensically and grasped at the straw he gave him, "There is, actually."

"And what's that," Klaus was going for nonchalance, but the interest in his voice was evident.

"You can come over."

A beat.

"I know this sounds crazy," Bonnie began.

"I can't," Klaus insisted, closing his mind to the pain in her voice.

"When I close my eyes, all I see is death," Bonnie whispered, clutching the phone close to her, "Blood and death."

"You don't want me anywhere near you," Klaus concluded for her. "I'm a monster."

"Please come," Bonnie said, like he hadn't spoken at all. "I need to see you."

"Bonnie," Klaus snapped, like he was talking to a child. "You're seeing my memories; _I_ am the one you're afraid of. _Me._"

"You're safe," Bonnie said, hating how her voice sounded. How weak. But her hands were trembling and she couldn't sleep. "When you're near, the witches stop talking."

"These aren't the witches," Klaus said impatiently.

"Doesn't matter," Bonnie said. "Your arms are safe. You'll protect me from the darkness."

_Your arms are safe_. "How can you say that, knowing what I've done?"

"You wouldn't let anything happen to me," Bonnie said.

"I did this to you." Klaus reminded her. _Hate me_, he wanted to scream. "I'm a monster."

"If you're a monster," Bonnie said resolutely, "I'm a monster."

**KB**

"Say it again." Klaus said, facing Bonnie outside Sheila's house. His hands were in his pockets as he stood in the front yard, on the bottom of the porch stairs. Bonnie stepped outside barefoot, on the tips of her toes, and she felt the air change around her. It was charged. It was different. His eyes were glued to hers, and she felt no need to look away. No fear.

"If you're a monster," Bonnie said, taking a step closer even as Klaus did the same. He wasn't touching her, his hands were still tucked carefully away, but she _felt_ him like he was. Every inch of her was on fire. And at the same time, every bit of her was at ease.

"Yes," Klaus said softly, his eyes studying hers. Had they always been so impossibly green? She met his gaze easily now. There was no fear. There was only the woman he had come to admire: confident, self assured, and able to go toe to toe with him without batting a lash.

"If you're a monster," Bonnie began again. "I'm a monster."

A hand fell from his pocket. He flexed his fingers carefully before raising his palm to glide against the small of her back. Then, slowly, without breaking their gaze, he pulled her to him. Like he was testing her. Bonnie didn't hesitate – she let him draw her closer.

"What are you talking about?" He whispered, his eyes finally falling to her lips. As if he could read what she said before she said it.

"I get it now," she said, licking her lips. If she hesitated, it was only because admitting the words would make them real. Yet at the same time, admitting them to Klaus, felt so liberating because she knew, instinctively, that he wouldn't judge her.

"Get what?" Klaus frowned, even as he trailed his other hand lightly up her arm.

"You," Bonnie said, raising up to surprise him with a peck to the corner of his mouth. "I get you."

"Yeah," Klaus breathed out, afraid to push her any further lest he break whatever spell she was under. Whatever spell they were both under. "You do."

And then, she kissed him.

If Klaus had a heart, it would have stopped.


	17. I am Niklaus

**AN: Thank you for the reviews, favorites and alerts, everyone! Your words mean a lot to me. Thank you for the birthday wishes, too To the 'Guest' reviewer who pointed out that Klaus didn't use conditioner - LOL! My bad. Silly Klaus (and silly Nicola!). **

**IF M IS NOT YOUR THING, SKIP KB*!**

_**I am Niklaus**_

When Bonnie pulled back from their kiss, Klaus' eyes were still closed. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and he nodded his head as if he was understanding something mysterious at last. When he opened his eyes to find her green orbs set so expectantly on him, he couldn't help the boyish smile that spread across his face.

"Bonnie," Klaus said, taking a step towards her.

She took a simultaneous step back and his smile disappeared. "Wait," she said, holding out a hand between them, "There's so much to say."

"I'm listening," Klaus agreed.

"Not here," Bonnie said, nodding towards the door to the house. She walked towards it, took a step in and turned back expectantly, as if she was waiting for him to follow. "It's for sale," Bonnie said, "There's no owner; no threshold."

"Was this..." Klaus looked through the door, bracing his hands on the frame. His eyes scanned the large house, empty house.

"My Grams," Bonnie said, her eyes falling before rising to meet his again. His expression was serious as she ran her eyes over his face. She paused and turned around, returning to the door. "Is something wrong?"

"I can't just..." Klaus' face twisted, like he was embarrassed to say. "_walk_ in."

"This isn't Mordor," Bonnie joked.

Klaus arched a brow. "What?"

"Nothing," Bonnie couldn't help the laugh that escaped her throat at his puzzled expression. She felt almost giddy in his presence. Bonnie reached out and took his hands in her own. They slid into place like they had always been there. Klaus wrapped his fingers gently around hers without looking down. He was unable to pull his eyes from her face, from her lips, as she said "Niklaus Mikaelson, please come in."

Klaus followed her inside, through her Grams' house, up the stair case to a room at the back with a large bay window looking out onto the woods beyond. He admired the home: the character of the wood, the way the stairs creaked under his weight, the way the moonlight streamed in through the windows. When Bonnie turned to smile timidly at him before entering the final room, Klaus' chest tightened and he loved it all the more.

_Bonnie's room_. Where Bonnie played. Where Bonnie grew.

There was a sleeping bag rolled out on the floor against the wall, under the windows. Near the opposite wall sat a closed laptop, an empty Starbucks cup and some Chinese take-out containers. Besides that, the room was empty. There were notches in the door frame spaced a few inches apart, and Klaus presumed that was where Grams had measured young Bonnie's growth. He ran his fingers over the notches as they passed.

Without letting go of his hand, Bonnie took her seat on the sleeping bag and pulled her beside him.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "It's not the most elegant of places."

"It's perfect," Klaus interrupted her apology. He leaned back against the wall, turning her hand so their fingers intertwined. They looked at each other for a long moment, each taking the other in, before Bonnie finally spoke.

"I saw your memories," Bonnie said, her brow furrowing as if in worry.

"I know," Klaus said. He reached up to cradle her chin. He ran his thumb in a lazy back-and-forth against the smooth skin of her cheek. She seemed to relax.

"I think I get it now," Bonnie said again, her voice barely above a whisper. She averted her eyes from his, and lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating the small place. The thunder rumbled shortly afterwards, but neither of them jumped – both too accustomed to surprise and danger. When the rain started to pour, pinging against the large window like music, a small smile tugged at Klaus' lips.

"Are you doing that?" he asked.

"We are," Bonnie nodded, "Can't help it."

"I like it," Klaus said, and the approval in his voice sent a sharp thrill down her spine. He moved his hand from her cheek and slid it over her shoulder. When she didn't move away, he slowly pulled her into him. She snuggled into his warmth, and Klaus pulled her tighter. Her whole body was impossibly soft and warm against his. He slid his hand up the back of her shirt, pressed his palm against her spine, and held her right there, so she was locked up in him.

Bonnie had shifted from her position on the floor. She was almost straddling Klaus' lap now, one leg spread out on the floor before him, the other bent, keeping Bonnie in place. She wondered if he even noticed, since he made no move to seduce her. He tightened his grasp on her, and she felt her breasts flatten pleasingly against his chest. Her chin came to rest on his shoulder, and she heard his long, slow inhalation against her ear. Her lips were close to his, too. Their eyes couldn't meet, but perhaps that was for the best. Perhaps now, she could say what she had to say...

"Klaus," Bonnie tried, and she felt his arms stiffen slightly.

The rain poured harder, wrapping them up in the echoes of its descent. The glimmer of the moonlight and lightning from the window was dancing prettily around the empty room through the leaves of a nearby tree.

"Yes, love?" he said after a while.

"I want to explain," Bonnie said, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Alright," he said.

She waited a moment longer, hoping to read him. But their position didn't change, and he said nothing else. Bonnie's heart pounded in her chest. She felt her palms sweat. Speaking these words was one of the most nerve-wrecking things she had done, and she had done a lot in her short life.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie forced the words out.

A beat.

"For what?" Klaus was genuinely confused. He had attacked her, drawn her blood without her permission. He had forced her to dream a millennium of death and destruction. What did she...

"For everything," Bonnie said, and he could hear her forehead furrow and her eyes water from the tremble of her voice. "What Mikael and Esther did to you..." Klaus' face turned to stone. He clutched her tighter now, squeezed his eyes against her voice. It was too sickeningly sweet, maybe if he ignored it... "They're _awful_, truly awful. I get it now,"

Now Bonnie's arms tightened on him. She turned to him, her lips against his throat. She spoke into where his pulse should be beating, her breath and mouth a comforting summoning back to her. Klaus focused on Bonnie's voice and nothing else.

"You're not a monster," Bonnie was saying against his skin, "You were protecting your family. Your family who is selfish and thoughtless... And who you love anyway."

Klaus tried to release her but she held on tight. She clung to him. She pressed her weight against him. Now he was the one locked up in her. His mind was reeling: this isn't what he expected. How could he have expected this? This strange and sudden understanding? _No one_ understood him. No one saw him as he longed to have been seen: as a protector, as a guardian, as a fugitive. He was a monster.

"I get it," Bonnie insisted, "You'll do whatever it takes to protect the people you love. You have done it. You gave up _everything_ for them," Bonnie shook her head against him, her grasp tightening on him as if she were angry. Her voice was heated and fast: "You gave up your_self_."

"Bonnie," Klaus choked out, in warning. She had to stop. She was making him dizzy. She was making him question himself. This wasn't the plan – and yet he had come here when she called. This wasn't the plan – she was supposed to give him up, fear him – and yet, he found himself longing for her words. He was about to argue more, about to correct her perception of him, when she spoke again.

"I've killed," Bonnie said softly. There was a long pause where neither heard anything but rain. The hand under her shirt began to trace comforting circles around her back. "I helped Damon kill... one of my best friend's uncles. He pulled his heart... right out of his chest."

Klaus frowned, but said nothing.

"I've killed loads of vampires," Bonnie said. "And I let them kill. I gave Caroline a ring though she killed a boy. I could have killed Damon – even Stefan – and I never did. They both kill for sport," she said the last bit like it disgusted her. "I only do it to protect."

"I know," Klaus said into her neck. He felt her body shake with cries. Her breathing changed, and soon the tears were pooling on his shoulder.

"I didn't want to kill," Bonnie said, "Neither did you. We had to. They gave us no choice."

Klaus frowned. "Bonnie, you're not like me."

"You did it to protect your family," Bonnie said with conviction. "I did it to protect mine. Our motivations are the same."

"I have done," Klaus let out a calming breath, "So much worse than you."

"I'm only eighteen, and I'm little more than a weapon," Bonnie said softly. "I've helped kill. I've helped torture. I've been used to protect vampires who prey on humans. All to save my best friend. In a thousand years, I could be so much worse than you."

"You are not a weapon," Klaus said with gravity, "You are so much, much more than a witch." He raised a hand to tangle in her hair. Without shifting their embrace, he used his thumb to wipe her cheek dry. "You are beautiful and good. You are kind and loyal. Your heart is the purest I have ever seen."

"Yours was, too," Bonnie said, "Once."

"A long time ago."

She drew back then, and Klaus was stunned by the image of her. The lightning and the moonlight hit up the angles of her face. Her tears made her emerald eyes positively sparkle.

"Don't you get it? I _know_ you. Not just the _you_ that is here before me, but every version of you. It's like it's all happening at once. And I," Bonnie let out a huff of breath, "care about all of them."

Klaus let his hand drop to her lips as she spoke. She had the most tempting mouth: curves that were both sharp and soft at once.

"You're more than a hybrid," Bonnie said softly, her eyes hooded as she glanced down at his lips. She licked her own without thinking as she looked at him.

Klaus' eyes flashed yellow at her declaration. He could hear her heartbeat thundering in her chest: louder than the thunder, and more frightening. Because that heart wasn't just beating for her - it was doing double time, for both of them.

"Bonne, you're..." Klaus began, and found himself at a loss for words. _Everything_.

"If you're a monster," Bonnie said as he bent the knee of the leg she sat on, forcing her body closer to his. She was leaning forward of her own accord, too, and soon her mouth was scan inches from his. His hands were wrapped around her, one on her bare back under her shirt, the other tangled in her hair. "I'm a..."

Klaus captured her lips before she could finish. He pulled her body tight against him, nudging her legs to open wider so they were centred perfectly together. They comforted each other with their lips, mouths moving in an impassioned frenzy – like both were starving for this moment. Her hand tightened in his hair, her hips started to move against him. He let out a growl as she tugged on his bottom lip and she caught it on her tongue. He smiled into their kiss as he unhooked her bra and elicited a delightful gasp. They teased and tasted each other in the darkness until the word _monster_ had been swallowed up and lost and forgotten to both of them.

**KB***

Klaus' head was spinning.

Bonnie's lips had moved from his mouth to the sensitive area behind his ears. She sucked at his skin there, her teeth and breath sparking chills all over his body. Her hips moved slowly against the hand he had slid into the waist band of her pants.

When he moved the damp fabric aside and nudged her skin with his, her pleading, gasping moan purred right beside his ear. He moved two fingers very slowly against her, enjoying ever tremble and shudder he elicited. With his other hand, he undid the buttons of her plaid shirt. With vampire speed, he discarded her shirt and his before shifting back into position. With her straddling him, he reached his hands under her butt, giving it an affectionate squeeze, and raised her up while lowering his face down. He sucked on the skin of her breast to the sound of her happy moans, running the edge of his fangs against the soft curves teasingly. Her heart thundered under his mouth and it was driving him crazy: he wanted to bite her, to taste her under his tongue again, but he knew that he couldn't. She would never let him. So, he would content himself by making her crazy as well.

Bonnie tugged at Klaus' hair without thinking. She was trembling, her hips jerking embarrassingly, as if she were begging for that touch again. His body was beautiful in the moonlight: she wanted to kiss and nip and run her tongue across every angle of his shoulders, of his arms, his stomach. She was about to, too – was about to pull away just enough to map his body with kisses – when he slid his hand down the back of her waistband, over her panties, and jerked her body up so his fingers settled on _that_ spot.

_So wet_, she thought she heard him say, but she could only respond with a chorus of sighs as fireworks erupted behind her eyes.

He wanted to take her from behind. He knew his eyes flashed yellow as he thought of her back pressed to his chest, one hand her breast and the other cradling the curve of her ass, his lips latched to the nape of her neck as she came with him inside her slick heat. But he shook the thoughts from his head: this was not the time for a mindless, passionate joining.

This was the time for slow, deep kisses and showing her how much he cared. How much he... loved. Because that was what that was, right? That impossibly light feeling that flickered in his chest like a blast of lightning, that one grew stronger and steadier with each sultry kiss? He was in love.

Klaus was going to play her like a finely tuned instrument, and elicit an orchestra of sighs from her lovely lips until she asked him to stop. As she writhed on top of him, her brows knitting together as the pleasure built, he felt a flash of need like nothing he had ever felt before. He _needed_ her. And more than that, he needed her to need him: to be as addicted to him and his touch as he was to her. His free hand tightened on her hip, and he started to direct her movement against his fingers. She gasped his name at the sensation, her hands falling to his shoulders for balance. He lay sucking, wet kisses across her breasts. No other man would please her like this, he thought. He would make her come so hard and so good that no other man will be enough for her. He moved her against him in time with his thoughts, hypnotized by the sheen of sweat that glistened on her brown skin. Her face fell into his nape as she came. She rubbed her face against his shoulder, bit his skin to keep from screaming out.

"Klaus," she whispered at last when he reluctantly withdrew his fingers. He had ghosted at her entrance, but hadn't pushed past.

When his eyes turned to hers at last, Bonnie saw a hesitance that broke her heart. He looked at her like he was expecting something. An announcement? A declaration? She didn't know what he wanted, or what to say. So instead of speaking, she kept her eyes pinned to his as she wriggled free of her jeans. Beneath him, he tugged his own down with his toes before kicking them off.

She settled against him again, a wicked smile pulling at her lips that Klaus returned. He had a mischievous glint in his eyes as he let her lower herself against him, thin cotton separating them from what they both wanted but were afraid to take. The second Bonnie settled herself against his erection, the smile left her face, and the glimmer in her eye was replaced with lust. A small, deep moan left her throat as he rocked her against him.

"You feel good," Klaus said, his hands on either side of her hips. He guided her movements until she was rocking against him of her own accord. Her panties slid to one side. Soon, only his underwear separated them and he watched, fascinating, as her body was exposed to him again.

Bonnie was writhing against him. She had never felt _this_ before: it was building inside her for the second time that night, but she felt more than an impending orgasm. She felt desired, and sultry, and sexy. And the way Klaus was looking at her, like her every move was captivating, made her skin rush with heat.

"Do I feel good?" Klaus purred against her, thrusting up to meet her rocking hips. She answered him with a strangled moan. She leaned forward and captured his mouth with hers. His kiss was tender now, in contrast to the rhythm of her hips, it was slow and sensual. Then his hand on her hip shifted and found her clitoris and started to rub, again, and she was so stunned by the pleasure that she bit down on his lip. He growled, slipping his thumb into her with every rock of her hips. "You like that?"

"Yes," she purred against his mouth, and he shifted so his thumb disappeared inside her. "Oh, Klaus," Bonnie tightened her eyes against the sensations. Then his other hand found the small of her back and started squeezing her, spurring her on.

The rain and thunder were ferocious outside, hammering at the window and exploding ferociously each time he found a corner of her body she liked him to touch. He licked his lips watching her, remembering how she tasted on his tongue. His entire body hardened at the thought, his eyes flashing and sticking that golden yellow color.

"I want you," he growled against her mouth before taking it with his own. He punctuated his words by thrusting into her rocking hips, "I want to be inside you."

"Fuck," Bonnie bit out, and the word in her pleasured voice only made him want her more. His words and his voice were driving her over the edge. She hardly remembered where she was anymore – who she was, even. She rubbed against him, her hands clinging desperately to his arms, his shoulders – running up and down the muscles of his chest, causing his muscles to jerk under her touch.

"You're so hot and tight," he mumbled, curving his thumb and making her shiver. He nipped at her lips, tilting his head to scrape his teeth against the skin of her chin. He slid his tongue across it, groaning happily at the hint of blood he tasted. He extracted his hand to the sound of her whimper and placed it back, sliding two fingers inside her now, to the glory of her moaning his name.

"I wish I was really inside of you," he grunted as her hips thrust against him. He used his thumb to tease her still, "I want you to come all over me." Bonnie moaned at the thought, grinding against him until his fingers were buried in her. He felt her wetness and her heat all over him; she was gyrating against him, bringing him close without even touching him: "I want to fuck you so bad."

"Shut up," Bonnie whined on a cry as her nails dug into his back. Klaus smiled against her lips as she flooded his fingers.

"Don't you want me to? You're so wet and ready," he teased.

"You're going to..." she panted, "make me..."

"Say my name," Klaus said, extracting his fingers slowly even as she moved to meet them.

"Klaus," she cried, "Don't stop!"

He slid his fingers back, moving slowly back and forth. He drew his face back, enjoying the way her brow furrowed, the way she worried her lip her teeth.

"Klaus," she moaned again, her hands clenching as if in warning, "I'm going to..."

"Yes," he said, thrusting up against her. Through the cotton, he felt her slick folds. He imagined she was hungry for him, imagined she was craving the same rush he was. She slithered against his cock, pulling at his waistband, but he caught her hands in his free one, holding it above his head as he pushed against her. He couldn't enter her now, it would be over before it begun. And he needed her to _need_ him, to think him the only man who could ever please her. How could he manage that if he came the second her silky skin touched his? Instead, he continued to finger her as she ground against him. Her breasts looked downright miraculous as he feasted on them.

"Klaus," she cried, and then again and again and again as she came violently on top of him. Her muscles clenched and pulled at his fingers, soaking them. Her words were lost in a torrent of moans and sighs, but as she let out a final, long breath against his neck, he heard her words clear as day: _I love you_.

Klaus followed her shortly after with a grunt that spread those tell-tale black veins over his eyes. He blinked into the darkness as the storm raged around them before stilling to a gentle lull. Bonnie collapsed on top of him, and he slid them into lying position.

"I always..." Bonnie said groggily, "more than you."

Klaus grinned sleepily himself, "I've been alive for a thousand years. You have quite a few more orgasms to go before you catch up to me."

Bonnie snorted. "I'll never."

"You will," Klaus promised before she drifted off to sleep. And Klaus always kept his promises.

**KB**

When Klaus awoke, Bonnie was gone. The sun was streaming in through the window, and the sky was clear of clouds. He focused on hearing heart beats, but there was nothing. She was gone.

He frowned, feeling suddenly desolate – empty, bereft. She wouldn't leave him to wake up alone, not after last night, not without a good reason.

_You're more than a hybrid_, she had said. She would contact him soon. She would find him, he thought with certainty. And when she did, he would tell her.

Rebekah was right. He was in love.

**KB**

Esther had Abby.

Bonnie got the call in the wee hours of the morning. She had run home, as instructed, to pick up the Bennett family grimoire. She took a few seconds to jump in the shower, realizing that Finn would likely smell Klaus all over her and know that something was up.

When she arrived, Esther took the grimoire from her with a cold gaze. Finn stood between Bonnie and her mother with his arms crossed. Bonnie glanced at her mother. Abby's gaze seemed distant and empty. Bonnie frowned, "Are you alright?" She didn't respond.

"She's fine," Esther said dismissively. "She can't see you. The perimeter of this house has a protection spell around it that will break at nightfall. Until then, no one can see her or track her."

Bonnie frowned. "That seems a bit excessive."

"Elijah is suspicious," Finn explained, and Bonnie hated that her heart jumped a bit at the declaration. Perhaps she wouldn't have to do anything. Perhaps Elijah would find a way... As Finn's eyes narrowed at her, she realized that he heard it.

"We cannot risk them ruining our plan," Esther said simply. "Step into the circle, and you will be under my protection. They won't be able to hurt you."

Bonnie frowned. If she turned away now, she could warn the Originals. The minute she stepped inside, she would be powerless – at least until nightfall. That significantly shortened her window of opportunity.

"Perhaps you are not aware of the things my brothers would do," Finn said in a slow, measured tone as he met Bonnie's eyes, "If they knew you were helping them."

Bonnie swallowed at the memory of the screams of Klaus' victims.

"Even if they don't hurt you," Finn said, "Your mother will be vulnerable. Your friends."

"This is it, Bonnie," Esther said, extending a hand. "It's too late to stop this now. Besides," she said pointedly: "You're absolutely buzzing with power."

Bonnie's eyes widened for just a second before she schooled her gaze to indifference.

"If they are suspicious," Bonnie tried, "Perhaps we should postpone."

"No," Esther insisted. Finn took a step forward and she continued, "You do realize that I draw from the Bennett line, alive _and dead_."

"Are you threatening me?" Bonnie recoiled.

"Of course not," Esther said with a smile that seemed to Bonnie like a sneer. "But should my children get to you or your mother, this spell will go ahead, anyway. You'll be safer here."

Bonnie frowned. She couldn't let her mother die for her decisions. She had a son waiting for her. And, Bonnie thought selfishly, she didn't want to die either... Not now, not when she had just started to live. _You're so much more than a witch_, Klaus had told her, and she was just beginning to believe him.

"You may join your mother," Esther said, glancing behind her and nodding at Finn. "Or take your chances and join us later."

Esther and Bonnie stared at each for what seemed like an eternity before Bonnie finally nodded. She could protect her mother from there. She couldn't leave her... Besides, knowing the vampires of Mystic Falls, they'd probably attack her and do something incredibly stupid without consulting her that she couldn't reverse.

Finn took a step aside and Bonnie ran to Abby.

"Bonnie," Abby said, as if startled to see her daughter. "I thought..."

"I won't leave you," Bonnie said in a hushed whisper as she took her mother's hand and lead her into the witch's house, away from Esther and Finn.

**KB**

Rebekah came home to find Klaus playing sad songs on the piano. He had been there when she awoke that morning, and there he was still. His phone was sitting on top of it, and though he had stopped glancing at it every few seconds, he still seemed to be expecting it to ring. She rolled her eyes and dropped into the couch.

"Klaus," she whined, "Can you be a little less of a stereotype? Introspective, emo vampire, much?"

"Can _you_ be a little less of a stereotype," he bit back without missing a beat, "Whiney, self-indulgent blonde, much?"

Kol's laughter sounded from the doorway. "He's got you, there."

"Don't start with me, sociopath." Rebekah pouted.

Kol's face only broke into a wider grin. "Don't be mean, Rebekah. I have a hundred years of _fun _to catch up on."

"Heading out, brother?" Rebekah said as Kol threw a jacket on.

"To the Grille," Kol declared. "See if I can't find myself a certain belle of the ball."

Rebekah smiled, her eyes on Klaus. "Great idea, Kol."

"I'm coming with you," Klaus stood suddenly.

Kol frowned. "You'll scare the girls away."

"Last I checked," Klaus smiled down at his younger brother, "The women of Mystic Falls love me."

"They just haven't been properly introduced to the real lady killer in the family."

"Quite literally," Rebekah chimed in.

Klaus smiled. "Don't wait up, Rebekah."

"Wouldn't if you asked me to," she called to their retreating backs as her phone began to ring.

"Elijah," she answered, her voice hushed and her face pulled into a serious expression.

**KB**

Bonnie's phone was dead. Esther's spell made it impossible for her to contact anyone. She even tried to throw a rock out into the field beyond the house, but it bounced back from the barrier.

"We can't leave," Abby said quietly from the corner, "Until tonight. I tried, but it's impenetrable."

Bonnie frowned and took a seat beside her mother. The sky was clear and bright, but Bonnie felt wretched inside. What was Klaus doing? What was he thinking? He must be so pissed off that she left that morning without another word... but she didn't know she'd be so trapped. She remembered his peaceful face, the way he frowned in his sleep as she slipped from his grasp, and it stung her to think that was the last time she would see him.

This was it. _The end._

"I thought they had you," Abby said, making Bonnie's eyes snap to her. "They said they had you, and that I was in danger unless I came to you."

"So much for respecting the Bennett line."

"She's desperate," Abby said as she shifted in her position, "To correct the balance." Then she smiled softly at her daughter. "You seem preoccupied."

Bonnie laughed. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Is it a boy?" Abby said hesitantly. Bonnie seemed surprised so she reminded her: "You did come home in just a man's shirt the other day..."

Bonnie blushed. "Ah... yeah, I guess you could say it's boy troubles."

"The worst kind," Abby joked. When Bonnie didn't volunteer more information, Abby continued. "Your father and I, we were madly in love for a time. The funny thing is, we split up because of vampires."

"What?" Bonnie gaped at her mom. "Dad knows about vampires?"

Abby laughed. "Of course. Do you think I lied to him about where I was going when I left?"

Bonnie shrugged.

"I didn't want to have anything to do with them," Abby explained, "But your father, for a time, was hyper-vigilant. He was obsessed with them." She lowered her voice: "He was convinced one was spying on you."

Bonnie snorted. "Black hair, blue eyes?"

Abby frowned. "He wasn't that specific."

"He wasn't that wrong, either," Bonnie said with a smirk. "He's a Salvatore. He's supposed to protect the Bennett line."

"Well, your father wanted us to do battle with any vampire that came to Mystic Falls," Abby continued, almost laughing herself. "He had no magic, but was still willing to go toe-to-toe with them for you." Bonnie smiled and Abby continued: "Thing is, I hated it. I hated being treated as nothing more than a witch." Abby shook her head, as if she was worried she shouldn't continue. But Bonnie looked at her with intrigued eyes, so she kept going: "To be honest, I didn't think your dad would want me without my powers. And I really didn't start to, well, love myself and be really happy until I was away from magic. Until I was away from Mystic Falls."

"Maybe when this is over," Bonnie tried tentatively, "You two can... talk."

"Maybe," Abby smiled. "Once this last bit of vampire business is over, maybe I'll introduce you to Jamie, too."

"I still can't believe I have a brother," Bonnie smiled back. Then, she felt her stomach turn: "But vampire business _never_ ends."

"I should have come back for you," Abby shook her head. "I've regretted it since I felt you inherit your powers."

"You felt it?"

"Yes," Abby said, "Witches can always feel when they are connecting to new lines. I should have known, leaving you in Mystic Falls would only lead to you being used again and again. No one should feel like they're a walking spell book."

"I don't feel that way," Bonnie said, but she wasn't convinced herself.

"Esther," Abby said quietly, "Doesn't seem to see us as anything but a link to the other side."

Bonnie scowled, "I know. I can't help but think there's a lot to this spell she isn't telling us."

Abby frowned. "But we can't do anything-"

"I will stop her," Bonnie said, eyes meeting Abby's with determination. "I won't let this go down without a fight."

"Bonnie," Abby said cautiously, "She just said she can draw from us dead or alive..."

"And?"

"And you're not strong enough..."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," Bonnie said resolutely as she thought of Klaus, "I'm not going to let her do this." _I'm not going to let her kill him_.

Abby waited a beat. Then she took a deep breath and turned to Bonnie. "She said she can draw from us _dead_ or alive," she said again, and Bonnie was about to respond snippily when it dawned on her.

"Abby Bennett," Bonnie gaped. "You're a genius."

"Well," Abby smiled as her daughter wrapped her in a tight hug, "You had to get it from someone."

**KB**

Klaus was leaning against the bar at the Grille beside Kol when the local doctor started shooting pool in the corner and tossing flirty smiles their way. Klaus was disinterested, though Kol seemed intrigued. They could both smell vampire blood on her. To Klaus, that meant she was in cahoots with the Salvatores and thus not worth knowing. To Kol, that meant she was down for blood play.

So, when Caroline walked into the Grille and set her eyes on Klaus a few minutes later, he was standing by himself. He glanced behind her as she walked towards him, frowning and taking a swig of his beer.

"Klaus," Caroline greeted sweetly, taking a seat at the bar.

He didn't turn towards her, instead keep his eyes trained on the door. "Caroline."

"Waiting for someone?" She quirked a brow.

Klaus sighed and took another sip. "Have been."

"It seems," Caroline said slowly, "You've taken a liking to a friend of mine."

Klaus frowned, turning to the blonde now. She seemed to be assessing him as she stared at him.

"I don't appreciate being used," she said.

"Neither does Bonnie," Klaus said with a smile.

Caroline let out a huff of air in annoyance. "I _never_..."

"Lovely ring," he nodded at the ring on her finger.

"I didn't use her!" Caroline protested, covering the day walking ring.

"Vampires survive without day walking rings all the time," Klaus said. "How convenient your best friend is a witch."

Caroline frowned. "You know what? I don't know why I do you any favors."

Klaus turned back to face the exit, disinterested, as Caroline hopped down from the bar stool.

"Bonnie was wrong about you," Caroline sneered at him, causing his brow to quirk and his head to turn just in time to see her narrow her eyes at him.

"Bonnie?"

"Transparent."

Klaus scoffed, taking a final swig of his beer before setting it at the bar. "Is she coming tonight?"

"She asked me to get you," Caroline said, rolling her eyes and keeping her voice low. "Discreetly, you know?"

Klaus smirked. He extended his arms and offered Caroline a sweet smile. "Well, what are you waiting for? Lead the way, love."

And she did. Right into the parking lot where, three minutes later, he fell to his knees clutching his chest.

"Wha... what..." Klaus barely managed to get out. It felt like he was being _stabbed_.

Caroline took a few steps away from him, then glanced behind him to the alley near the back of the Grille. Klaus followed her tell-tale gaze and saw Kol's lifeless body being carried away. With a growl, Klaus leapt into action. He shoved a Salvatore aside – he wasn't sure which one – and pulled the stake out of Kol's heart. When his brother came to with a startled gasp, he glanced around to return the stake to them and found no one there.

"What... happened?" Kol asked, coughing the night air.

Klaus frowned as he glanced around at the empty space. "The cute little doctor seems to have been your downfall."

Kol frowned, rubbing the spot on his chest where the dagger had briefly been. He shook his head, "As long as it wasn't you... this time."

"Funny," Klaus said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. _No missed calls_. All day, not a single call from Bonnie. "Something is going on."

"No kidding," Kol bit out before Klaus silenced him with a warning finger. He dialed Bonnie's number, nodding at Kol to bring the car around.

_This number you dialed is not in service. Please check your number and dial again_.

Klaus threw his phone to the ground.

_Betrayed._

**KB**

"I needed them when I desiccated Mikael," Abby explained in hushed tones. She had been revealing little steps Bonnie would have to take for her plan to work.

She was going to call on Sheila and Emily, and she was going to beg them to stop this.

"I called on them, then. They warned me that I would be drained for awhile, but it was permanent," she paused, reaching out to touch Bonnie's cheek. "I think, because I left you."

"Maybe it will return," Bonnie offered, taking her mother's hands in her own and following her instructions, "Now that you're teaching me."

"I'm doing this for you," Abby clarified, "What they do or don't do with you powers – it should be your choice."

She glanced around the room before speaking again: "Do you remember what I told you?"

"Yes," Bonnie said, repeating her mother's tale: "The desiccation spell is written in the back of our grimoire in hidden, mirror-language. Esther will read it and use it to connect with Ayanna, and through Ayanna, the rest of our line."

"Right," Abby nodded. "What must you do?"

"I must create as many blocks as I can in the Bennett line – the closer to my generation, the better."

"Pulling from our line is more like creating a circuit. If enough of the witches block the connection, they can stop the flow of power," Abby explained again, "And the closest Bennetts to you are me, Sheila, and the Bennett who inhabited your physical body."

"Emily."

"Right," Abby said. "Now, what is the first step in the desiccation spell?"

"Making a physical connection with the embodiment of the line," Bonnie said, squeezing her mother's hands, "You."

Abby smiled. "Right. Now, focus on our connection." Bonnie closed her eyes. "When the time is right, you're going to want to channel your energy through me, and direct it to Sheila. You're going to want to send the intention through me to contact Emily."

"Alright," Bonnie said, her eyes still closed. Abby felt a zap of power in her palm and jerked her hands back.

"Not yet," she warned in a hushed whisper. "Esther will feel her connection to us snap the minute you start."

"Sorry," Bonnie said sheepishly. She was anxious to start. The sooner she could stop the flow of power, the sooner she could stop Esther. Bonnie thought of Klaus and his soft lips against her forehead as she drifted off to sleep and clenched her teeth with determination.

"Bonnie," Abby worried her lip, "This spell is dark magic. I've used it to channel power, to open the connection – not to block it. It may very well funnel our line's power into you." She paused: "No witch is supposed to have more power than her body can hold."

"I've held the power of a hundred witches," Bonnie said, meeting Abby's eyes with gravity. "I can handle this."

"Ayanna will be fighting you," Abby said.

"I know," Bonnie said, setting her jaw. "I'm powerful, Abby. I can do this."

"Alright," Abby said, glancing to the entrance. "Any minute now, Finn will come for us. You can't alert him to what's going on, so," she grabbed Bonnie's hand tightly in her own. "Don't let go."

"I won't," Bonnie promised, and they both turned their gaze to the entrance.

"He must be some guy," Abby said at last.

"He is," Bonnie said, her face breaking into a strange grin. "Maybe, one day you'll meet him?"

"I'd love to," Abby smiled.

And for the first time in a long time, Bonnie had _hope_.

**KB**

It was a showdown when Klaus arrived. The moon was high and bright in the sky. He felt it calling – felt more powerful than usual. Kol had arrived with him to find Elijah there, facing Finn in the centre of the pentagram. Their mother stood on the other side, with Bonnie and an older version of Bonnie holding hands off to one side.

Klaus glared at the young Ms. Bennett, even as he watched Kol pace back and forth in frustration. As Elijah filled him in on the link between the siblings and the plan with the Salvatores, Klaus kept his expression hard and his gaze trained on Bonnie.

_I'm going to kill you_, she had said flippantly many times. She had kept her promise. Why had he doubted her? He was so infuriated that he wanted to strangle her.

_In due time_, he thought. There are worse things than death, and Bonnie would know every one of them. She _used_ him in the worst of ways to charge up her power to obliterate him. With the full moon this high, she could probably help his mother kill him without breaking a sweat. In fact, he should probably not be there at all except he wanted to look her in the eye when she did it. He wanted to look her in the eye as she killed the one person who had ever cared for her.

He let out an irritated growl as she turned her face towards her mother and squeezed her hand. He turned his face to his.

"It will end now," Esther was saying, glancing shakily at the sky.

"I should never have trusted you," Klaus bit out, and Bonnie thought his words could be for her.

Esther turned back towards the girls: "Inside."

"Come on," Abby whispered, tugging on Bonnie's hand when she wouldn't move.

"Something feels wrong..." Bonnie began, not letting go of her mother's hand. As they walked back to the house, she turned to look over her shoulder – tried to make eye contact with Klaus again, to somehow silently communicate that it was going to be okay. That she's _got this_. She didn't stop trying to get his attention until the door to the house closed behind her.

"Now, Bonnie," Abby said, "She's distracted, this is the only time it will work."

"Okay, let's get to the basement," Bonnie said, leading her mother forward. "The ghosts will protect us there."

Abby nodded, and Bonnie released her hand for the seconds it took to climb down the narrow stairs. She reached out behind her, her arm flailing as she connected with nothing but air. She turned behind her, expecting to see her mother, but seeing a vampire instead.

"Stefan," Bonnie breathed out.

"Elena's in trouble," Stefan said, his brow furrowing in that familiar way, "We have to stop Esther."

"I _want_ to stop her," Bonnie explained, "I just-"

"Are you saying you _can't_ stop her?" Stefan interrupted.

Bonnie pushed to move beyond him but he held her in place.

He glanced at his watch. "Thirty seconds, Bonnie."

"I can't do it by myself," Bonnie bit out. Bonnie's entire body was tense as she realized he wasn't going to her past. Every second gone was a second Esther could be doing the spell! She needed to get to her mother. "She's drawing on my family line. I need-"

"Then I'll find a way," Stefan said, meeting her eyes.

"No, Stefan," Bonnie began as she realized what he intended.

But it was too late. She heard the crack of the neck like it was thunder whipping the air around her. She heard her mother's body fall lifeless to the floor. But even worse, she felt the connection break and snap back like a rubber-band. Her mother wasn't even a dead witch. She was...

"You..." Bonnie cried once before Stefan stepped aside and she ran up the stairs.

**KB**

"Mom!" Klaus heard Bonnie's cry in the exact moment that his mother screamed, "No!" Esther was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but a salt pentagram behind. And yet, Klaus' feet were still pinned to the ground. He was still unable to move as his eyes trained on the door to the witch's house. He had heard her beyond the chaos, beyond the madness.

_Bonnie's in pain_, he thought. He moved to take a step forward, but he felt the power of the witches push him back. He was still an abomination to them – he was still unwelcome on the ground.

His face contorted, he almost cried out her name – _Bonnie!_ – though he wasn't sure if he wanted to demand answers or offer comfort. His mouth was already opening when Kol slapped a hand on his back.

"Let's go home, brother," Kol said. His eyes were likewise turned to the door. Unlike Klaus, his face was set and resolute. He had made his mind up about the witch. No one gets two chances to go against the Mikaelsons, and the slight girl had already had so many.

_It's time to put your game face on_, he could practically hear Kol think.

And Klaus was beginning to agree.


	18. Bloodlines

**AN: Thank you for all of the reviews and favorites and encouragement Here's another long one! I wasn't sure where to end, and I wanted to spend time on Bonnie/Abby bonding and I wanted to stay loyal to some parts from the show. I hope you enjoy it!**

_**Bloodlines**_

Seeing her mother's body sprawled in an unnatural angle sent a white flash of light through Bonnie's mind. She looked, without seeing, as Stefan and Damon gave up trying to stop her and hurried from the house. She chanted, without speaking, Latin words that seemed to jump off her tongue without a single thought. By the time she realized what she was doing, the witch's house was already on fire – a huge, spiralling orange flame that twisted up into the grey sky.

_Sherriff Forbes_, Bonnie thought as she glanced around, panting for breath in the smoke-filled confines, and staring at her mother's trembling body.

Bonnie fell to her knees beside her mother, squinting through the smoke that stung her eyes, as she struggled to get up. Abby reached out and pressed her hand to the side of her neck, as if she could still feel the pain of Damon's artless snap. Bonnie grabbed her mother's hands and pulled her to her feet, dragged her from the house, before anyone could notice.

As she hurried them from the scene, she heard the sirens sounding in the distance. While supporting Abby's weight, Bonnie took a final glance at the witch's house over her shoulder. She watched, stunned, as the flame extinguished itself over the enchanted wood: as if it had not been burning at all. The building, it seemed, could never be destroyed as long as the witches were protecting it.

_But why_ – Bonnie thought with incredulity – _hadn't they protected her?_

**KB**

"What the hell happened tonight?" Klaus finally managed to get out. He sat across the room from his brothers – Kol, who had finished packing his bags to go on 'assignment', and Elijah who had been lost in thought and silent since they got home.

"Mother was right about us," Elijah said, shaking his head, "We are monsters. We did become monsters."

Klaus knew that he should agree. Hell, he was inclined to agree. But Bonnie's words in his head kept him silent. Even as he felt rage bubbling through him as he thought of her and what transpired between them, he found himself gripping to her words with a desperation he was ashamed to accept.

_You're more than a hybrid_, she had said. Had she meant it? Or is that exactly what he was – a beast, something his own mother had long wanted dead? Something his own mother had never wished existed?

_Well_, Klaus thought as he threw his drink unceremoniously into the fireplace and smiled at the way it exploded into flame, _it is no matter now_.

Because whatever he was beyond the hybrid had now gone into hibernation. She had attacked the one thing she knew he could not forgive: his family. She had done it using powers that he taught her how to enhance, that he himself had enhanced by answering her phone call the night before. Even worse, she had crushed a heart that had just started beating again.

_And yet here you are_, he thought to himself with an irritated grin, _thinking of her _still_._

**KB**

Bonnie brought Abby home to find Caroline pacing back and forth on her porch.

"Bonnie," Caroline began, stopping only when Abby glanced at her with a tired look and Bonnie raised a hand to silence her well-meaning friend.

"Care," Bonnie sighed as she walked past, leading Abby to the front door, "We need to be alone."

"What..." Caroline began, concern clear in her blue eyes, "Did something happen?"

"I just want to be alone," Bonnie repeated, patting her friend's arm in thanks before turning to the door. Caroline nodded, respecting Bonnie's decision as her mouth set in a tight, unforgiving line. She couldn't hear Abby's heart beat.

"If you need anything," Caroline said, shaking her head, "_Anything_ at all, call me. Anything, Bon-bon."

"Thank you," Bonnie said with a watery smile as she walked into the house and closed the screen door behind her. She gave her friend a weak wave as she locked the front door. Only when she was certain Caroline was gone and could no longer hear her, Bonnie slid against the door, her entire body racked with sobs.

"Bonnie," Abby said, coming to her daughter and pulling her up. She threw and arm around her and led her to her bedroom. The sobs that tore from Bonnie's chest were unlike any Abby had heard before: they were so much stronger and pained than the ones she cried as a child. And then, like now, Abby knew there was little she could do to silence her but let her cry it out. As they sat on the bed, arms wrapped around each other, Abby let her own tears fall quietly as she rubbed her daughter's arms and promised her that everything would be alright.

"Abby," Bonnie sobbed, looking up at her mother. "You should think about it. It won't be that bad! Caroline is..."

"No," Abby said softly.

"I can make you a daylight ring; Caroline can get you blood bags..."

"No," Abby said, more forcefully this time. She turned her tired, wet, red eyes to Bonnie's and shook her head: "No, Bonnie. I can't do it."

"Don't," Bonnie warned, hating how her voice trembled.

"Bonnie, I won't be leaving you." Abby measured her words slowly.

"No," Bonnie said, shaking her head and rising from the bed. She waved her hands in front of her as if she could shoo Abby's thoughts away. She lifted her palms to her own face, pushing violently at the tears that streamed down her cheeks still. She dug the heel of her hand into her eye to dry it, and ignored the pain. If she could just _stop crying_ and start thinking...

"I don't feel it," Abby said.

"What?" Bonnie snapped her head back to her mother. She sat with her back slouched, her hands cradled in her lap.

"The earth," Abby said with a sad smile before meeting her daughter's eyes. "Even when I was living without my powers, I still felt it."

Bonnie was silent. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't reason that away. As she looked at her mother, for the first time, she didn't see the mother who had left her. She didn't see the mother who had failed her in a million ways. She just saw a woman – lost and confused, and on the brink of death. She had an impossible decision, Bonnie knew. But she refused to take away her choice – refused to doom her to a life of... well, a life of what she had seen through Klaus' eyes. She wouldn't do to her what his family had done to him – wouldn't let her live that way just because of her.

"Alright," Bonnie said at long last. Abby offered a watery smile and quickly wiped away the tear that fell. "Alright," Bonnie tried again more resolutely this time: "This is your decision and... I'm sorry that it got this far."

"Don't," Abby said in warning, and Bonnie was struck by how alike they were.

"I should have sent you away as soon as you came..."

"Bonnie, stop!" Abby scolded. When Bonnie made a face, Abby smiled: "Hey, if I can't scold you now..."

Bonnie laughed in spite of herself and was soon sobbing again. She returned to the side of the bed without thinking and lay her head in her mother's lap. She cried into her mom's thighs as Abby ran her hands over her daughter's forehead, keeping her hair out of her eyes.

"Shhh," Abby sang to her softly, "Shhh, my darling. Mommy's here."

Bonnie cried even harder. She cried until her shoulders couldn't shake anymore; until her fingers were cold and she had to trap them in her thighs to feel them again. She cried until she felt like sneezing and her eyes were dry and aching. And then, when she finished, she looked up and saw that her mom had been crying too.

"I love you, Bonnie," Abby said fiercely. "I have loved you your whole life, even if I didn't know how to show it. I didn't know how to be a mom for you."

"I love you, too," Bonnie insisted, wrapping her arms around her mother. And then, softly: "I'll miss you. I'll miss this. I've never had a mother to cry on..."

Abby stifled a sniffle. "I'm so sorry for that. I wish... I wish I was half as sensible then as I see you are now."

Bonnie's teeth clenched and her expression suddenly hardened. She looked up at her mother: "I'm going to make them pay. I swear to you, I will make them regret it."

"No," Abby said simply. "Do not do anything in my name but be happy."

"Abby..." Bonnie frowned.

"Bonnie, I'm not going to complete the transition," Abby said casually but with finality. Saying it aloud for the first time – it made Bonnie feel both intense grief and a strange kind of relief. Death, at least, was natural. Her mother would be free. "So, in these few hours we have before sunrise, I'd like to... get to know you."

Bonnie sniffled again looking up at her mom. "Me?"

"Tell me about that boy..." Abby said, pulling her daughter up to sit beside her. She wrapped her arm around her, and Bonnie fell into her mother's warm embrace for the final time. "Maybe you can call him up and I can have a chat with him?"

Bonnie let out ridiculous laugh at that. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"He'll answer, if it's you," Abby insisted.

"Can I..." Bonnie hesitated, "Tell you about him?"

Abby grinned, "Yes, please!"

Bonnie smiled. "I haven't _really_ told anyone yet. You're the first to know."

Abby squeezed her daughter's hands, a strange warmth filling her all over. There was a welcome peace in the room as Bonnie started to fill Abby in on the details of her one great love affair.

"He sounds fantastic," Abby smiled.

"He's a character," Bonnie said. She couldn't keep the smile off her face while recounting how Klaus had saved her from witches or how he had literally swept her off her feet at a party.

The thought of the anger and hurt and hate he must be feeling now clawed at her. When he arrived, he was glaring at her. _He misunderstood her_, Bonnie had realized as she was walking with her mother back into the witch's house. He saw her beside Esther and assumed she was betraying him. It hit her like a punch to the gut when she thought of it: how used to betrayal Klaus must be that he must feel despair at having a woman who cared about him at Esther's side. Had he been used to being loved – being treasured – he would have seen her beside Esther and _known_ that he was safe. Didn't she tell him, after all? Bonnie Bennett protects the people she loved. And she loved him.

"You love him," Abby said, the second the realization hit Bonnie's face.

Bonnie tried to keep the smile from spreading across her lips as she nodded wordlessly. "Yeah," she scrunched up her nose, "I think I do."

Abby grinned at her daughter. "I think this is the happiest moment of my life."

Abby's words brought a tear to Bonnie's eyes that she disguised with a laugh. "We could have had so many more..."

"Oh," Abby said, raising her hand to her head like she had a headache. Bonnie wrapped her arm around her shoulders, "Mom, are you okay?"

"I... I am," Abby said, shaking her head. "Just feeling a bit under the weather."

_I should have sought her out earlier_, Bonnie thought. _I should have opened up to her earlier_.

"Bonnie," Abby interrupted her thoughts, "Before I... go, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Bonnie nodded, her full attention trained on the woman before her.

"Do you remember what I told you in the witch's house? About drawing on our ancestor's power?"

"It's like a circuit," Bonnie nodded. "They can reduce or increase the amount of power a witch receives by allowing or blocking the flow when called upon."

"Right," Abby smiled proudly, "And do you remember the first step?"

Bonnie reached out and took Abby's hand in answer.

"Bonnie, you were only a baby when it happened," Abby said, taking a deep breath before continuing: "But that was your first spell. Your Grams was against the desiccation spell. 'Don't get mixed up with vampires,' she had said," Abby laughed humorlessly, "So, I took your hand. _You_ were my connection the other side."

"I was?" Bonnie smiled, her nose scrunching up in pleasure. Her first spell was with her mother.

"And," Abby hesitated to continue. She took her time taking in and letting out another long breath, "You're the reason I lost my powers."

"What?" Bonnie gaped at her mother.

"You connected me to the other side. You're the closest generation to my generation that was involved in the spell. You were my little circuit keeper," Abby smiled, shaking her head at the memory of her chubby, green-eyed daughter. "When I didn't come back, I suppose you decided I didn't deserve any magic at all."

"Oh, no," Bonnie gaped, "Abby, I'm so sorry!"

"No," Abby shook her head, wide-eyed, "No, don't be sorry! It's what I wanted. And you were a child who thought she could bring her mother back." Abby leaned forward to place a kiss on Bonnie's forehead. "The reason I'm telling you this is not to upset you."

"It's not upsetting, I just feel..."

"You feel bad," Abby teased gently, "Because you, like your father, want to protect everyone you love and you take it so personally when you can't."

"I could have..."

"It wouldn't have brought me back," Abby said. "I had decided to stay away weeks before my power stopped. Maybe your Grams or Emily or even your father reached out and persuaded you to stop it. It's fine, Bonnie. I have never blamed you, and I would never have told you this, except..."

"Mom," Bonnie said, the word feeling strangely comfortable, "What is it?"

"If I don't complete the transition, I will die as if I had died a witch."

Bonnie paused, thinking for a moment before realizing: "You'll be with Grams; I'll know how to feel your presence."

Abby smiled, "I would have found a way back to you either way."

Bonnie felt the emotions rising up again but her mother's stern look held her tears back. She had more to say.

"When the sun rises, I will become part of our line again. Esther will be able to draw on our line again," Abby exclaimed, and she noticed the way Bonnie's face fell and eyes hardened. "You don't have any physical embodiments of our direct line; you wouldn't be able to stop her, unless you had a child."

Bonnie's jaw clenched. The wheels of her brain were already turning trying to figure out what to do.

"But I'll already be on the other side, Bonnie," Abby explained, "_I_ will stop the circuit, and I will send our message all the way up to Ayanna if I have to. I won't let Esther or anyone like her _ever_ use you again. Your power will be yours."

"Please don't," Bonnie said softly. "Please don't do this because of me. Don't... die because of me."

"You are so eager to die for everyone you love," Abby said, caressing her daughter's cheek, "And you won't even let me pass on, as nature intended, to protect you. That either makes you a truly generous human being," Abby smiled sadly, "or a girl not used to love."

"I just..." Bonnie clenched her eyes against the tears. "I want you to be happy, mom."

"What will make me happy," Abby said, patting Bonnie's head, "Is to see you live your life for yourself. Don't let them treat you like you're just a witch. You're more than a Bennett witch, Bonnie. You're my daughter, and you're your father's daughter, and you're the most important resident of Mystic Falls. You are the most important thing I ever did with my life."

Bonnie let out a half laugh-half sob at her mother's words.

"I'm going to pass on, my darling. And I'm going to protect you from the other side." Abby pulled Bonnie closer to her and lay a kiss on her forehead. "So don't let me do this in vain. Don't let me free you from their demands and then let them treat you like their personal spell book anyway. No one can control you but you. You hear me?" Though her words were stern, Bonnie heard the sweetness, the sadness, and the fear in her mother's voice.

"I will make you proud," Bonnie promised.

"Don't go risking your life anymore," Abby said, her own voice shaking now. "Promise me, you'll take care."

"I will," Bonnie said at last.

"Good," Abby said, closing her eyes. "You were my conduit, and now I'm going to be yours. I'm going to set you free, Bonnie."

Bonnie smiled, cuddling up next to her mother who wrapped her in her arms. Soon, her mother started humming a lullaby that was strangely familiar to the younger Bennett.

"How do you get to me, my darling?" she ended the lullaby, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Straight ahead, first star to the right," Bonnie ended the song, surprised that she knew what to say automatically.

"That's my girl," Abby smiled to herself, pleased that she had remembered that. She rubbed Bonnie's back into the small hours of the night, comforting her with familiar stories and anecdotes about her childhood – telling her all the things she remembered, making a list of what she wanted Bonnie to see and do and live for her. All the while, Bonnie sobbed into her mother's shoulder, feeling alternatively euphoric, depressed, devastated and at peace.

When Abby passed with the coming of the dawn, Bonnie closed her eyes and finally succumbed to a dreamless sleep.

**KB**

_Where in the world was Bonnie Bennett?_

It had been three days since Klaus had last set eyes on Bonnie as she entered the witch's house. Without Tyler, he had no way of keeping tabs on the young witch. He had searched his mind, tried to come up with some reason he could cling to that would explain the sudden distance between them. But there was nothing.

She had not contacted him. She had not been to school or to the Grille; she had not appeared in public at all. He had sent a hybrid or two past her house when his curiosity overwhelmed him, but there had been no sign of life. Time was ticking, and he knew the Salvatore brothers would not rest while the siblings were still linked: they would find some way of immobilizing them until they could kill them. And they would likely go for the weakest link first.

Finn.

Elijah had located their elder brother and sent home a vial of his blood. Kol had taken a trip to Middle of Nowhere, U.S.A. Rebekah and Klaus were alone in the mansion – _waiting_.

"You're getting soft, brother," Rebekah said as she dragged the chains through the mansion to the ballroom. She counted every second she was alive as a miracle. Finn was anywhere, and if he – or even Elijah or Kol – met with some unhappy accident, she could end up unconscious again. Or dead. The time wasting was driving her insane, and she wasn't going to wait any longer. She began to string up the chains, enjoying the sound of them rattling against each other and on the floor.

"Patience, Rebekah," Klaus said, staring at the chess table and pieces scattered on the floor from his slouched position on the arm chair. He barely lifted his chin to acknowledge her presence.

"This is your fault," she said, pausing from her little project to shoot him an angry look from across the mansion. "You let a pretty face fool you."

Klaus frowned, his eyes hard and dark. "A mistake I will not be making again."

"I don't know why you haven't sought her out," Rebekah continued, testing the strength of the chains before attaching special bear-trap style cuffs to either one, "And punished her for assisting our mother."

"In due time," Klaus bit out, reaching into his pocket to read the incoming text.

_Ready_¸ Kol's message read. An attached image revealed a picture of the Gilbert boy in a baseball park in Denver.

_Bonding already, I see_, Klaus texted back.

"Don't worry, brother," Rebekah smiled wickedly, "I've got my own plans in mind."

"As long as they do not interfere with mine," Klaus said, flashing Rebekah an approving smile of his own.

_Oh, we're practically brothers_, Kol said.

_Just don't kill him_, Klaus replied.

Kol's answer was an attached picture from an unknown number: a picture of the scrawny teenage boy planting a kiss on the beautiful mouth of one Bonnie Bennett.

Klaus almost dropped his phone.

_I take it back. Kill him_, he was about to type and send when, suddenly, the door bell rang.

He glanced up to catch Rebekah's eyes. Her movements had stilled and she exchanged a questioning look with her brother.

"Well, it's not for me," Rebekah said pointedly.

Klaus rose from his chair as his sister drew the sliding doors closed to hide her little project from the guest's view.

He paused for only a second before his eyes widened and he reached out, swinging the door open in one smooth motion as he slid his phone into his pocket. Because that scent that was wafting through the wood – that unmistaken pitch and pound of heart from the other side of the door – hit him like water in the desert.

"Bonnie," he said, his lips a tight line.

"Klaus," she replied, his voice light on her lips.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" No emotion.

"You need me," Bonnie paused. "I can undo the link."

Klaus smiled, taking a step to the side and waving his arm. "Do come in."

**KB**

Klaus led Bonnie upstairs in silence. They walked past the living room and she narrowly avoided stepping on a discarded pawn. She took her time on the staircase, pausing to cast an appraising glance over the open area of the mansion – Elijah and Kol did not appear to be home. Klaus hurried on before her, each step heavier and more distant than the last.

Bonnie had been in communion with her ancestors for three days. As soon as Abby died, she felt the sharp snap as her powers returned to her. It only grew as Abby worked up the Bennett bloodline, closing off any access points Esther had to her. Bonnie had awoken that morning to find that three days had passed in a somnambulist state, and the first thing she did after showering and devouring leftovers, was to hop in her car and head to the Mikaelson's.

_Klaus_, she thought single-mindedly. _Niklaus._

She was a mess of emotions and new feelings she hadn't had time to navigate. With every step she took through the mansion, she felt stronger. The Bennett line was freeing her from Esther's control. Even if she was only now just reaching the levels her individual powers had been before the hundred witches' assisted her, she was teetering on a high from the sudden rush of it all.

Being near Klaus, well, that only sparked sensations that even in a somber, sober state she wouldn't be able to reason out.

If she had any weakness at all, Bonnie thought as they narrowed a small curve and Klaus paused to cast a glance at her over his shoulder, it came from the hollow in her heart where Abby used to be. She didn't feel _alone_: she felt evidence of her mother's love, devotion and sacrifice in the power that pooled at her finger tips. But she felt the loss. And she hadn't spoken the words out loud. Not to anyone.

The comfort she sought, the only comfort that mattered – that could make it feel better, lay in the hands of the man who thought she wronged him. The man she had to make it up to today.

Bonnie followed his lead up the stairs and down a corridor to an upstairs library. In silence, the angles of his back became fascinating: the broadness of his shoulders, the determined sway of his posture. He reminded her of a tiger, his bones and muscles moving under his shirt like it was fur that barely concealed the predator within. Handsome and dangerous. His hands were in his pockets, one sleeve rolled above the elbow, the other just underneath. He was barefoot, the legs of his jeans tucked under his heels as he walked despite his overwhelming height. Though, Bonnie knew from memories that made her blush, Klaus liked to wear his trousers slung low.

She was watching each move so intently that, when they reached the end of the hall, she almost walked right into him.

Klaus turned to face her, and Bonnie had to take two steps back. She opened her mouth to speak, to offer a smile – her hands were already rising from her sides to touch him, the words already bubbling up – when he pinned her with cruel coldness behind his eyes. Her lips parted, and he shot her a glare as he tilted his head as if to say – _don't bother_.

Her hands fell to her side and she raised her chin instead. She swallowed, and was sure he heard her heart beat increase.

"Klaus..."

"I have already located the spell," he said, his eyes hard on hers.

He had felt her stare on his back the entire way upstairs and to the room. Like she was afraid to take her eyes off him. _As if he would kill her when she still had work to do!_ Pity she didn't see the set up Rebekah was working on downstairs... the kind of punishments Originals doled out when they were hurt or betrayed. And what Damon did to Rebekah – well, that didn't even come close...

"We should talk," Bonnie said. Her lips pulled into a pensive pout, her brows knit together. She raised a hand and Klaus gracefully stepped aside while nudging the door open.

He hesitated before speaking, like he wasn't sure exactly of where to take the conversation. _We _should _talk_, he thought. He was angry. He wanted to tear her apart – wanted to punish her. He had no interest in her excuses or explanations. She would say what she always said, wouldn't she? "_I told you I would kill you_" or "_You know I always protect the people I love"_ blah blah blah.

He hesitated because he wanted her to say something different. Something that would make it okay for him to still _feel_ that way about her. Something that would make him feel like less of an idiot for trusting her. Her mouth held heaven and hell both, and if he couldn't anticipate whether feathers or flame would escape, he would keep his lips sealed and his game face on.

"The grimoire is on the table."

"Klaus," Bonnie shook her head, her eyes brimming over. She reached up and touched his arm as he moved to go past her, and caught skin. She closed her fingers over him and felt the same jolt of pleasure she always did when skin met skin. From the way his entire body stilled and tensed, she knew he felt it too. "If we could just talk..."

"Not interested," Klaus bit out.

"It's not what it looks like," Bonnie tried as he pried her fingers off of him like something disgusting. He let her fingers fall from his unceremoniously. Without even turning to look back at her.

"You're angry, I get that," Bonnie said.

"Spare me," Klaus mocked her with a laugh, his eyes falling on her at last filled with angry amusement.

"You're right; I did wrong," Bonnie said, the words flying from her throat. She didn't notice she was crying until the image of him blurred and shifted before her. "I'm sorry. Please..."

Klaus let out an exaggerated sigh of exasperation. His voice was low with barely contained impatience. "Just do the spell, Bonnie."

"Alright," she said just as softly, dropping her hands and rubbing them against her thighs. She inhaled sharply and turned towards the door as he took his first step away from her. Bonnie cast a glance over her shoulder, watching him walk away from her with a dismissive wave.

"You have an hour," Klaus said.

**KB**

The spell was more complicated than she had anticipated. After a quick perusal, Bonnie knew she wouldn't be able to pull it off. Esther had been pulling on her whole damn line, and Bonnie only had herself – maybe Abby, and possibly Sheila _at most_. And there was no way she was getting past Emily on her own.

Bonnie fell into a brown arm chair and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with two fingers. How was she going to pull off this spell? And how was she going to convince Klaus to stop snapping at her long enough to give her a chance to explain?

_Do the spell, Bonnie_.

Bonnie's eyes snapped open.

"Abby?"

Silence.

Bonnie closed her eyes again, chanting her mother's name over and over again. Her hands closed over the arms of the chair, fingers squeezing the cushions.

_Do the spell._

"Grams?"

No answer.

"I can't," Bonnie thought. "I'm not powerful."

_Bennetts protect their own_, another familiar voice came to her.

_Trust yourself_, a stranger accent came.

Bonnie took a deep breath and felt like she was inhaling power, rather than oxygen. This was different than the hundred warring witches. These were her family. These were her own, and they were trusting her, helping her.

Bonnie didn't realize she had sat like that for forty minutes, wrapped up in the golden, dusty magic glow of strength, until Klaus interrupted her thoughts and sent the witches scattering.

**KB**

Klaus came back exactly forty-five minutes after he left. "Tick-tock! I should hear chanting by now."

"I'm still studying the unlinking spell." Bonnie said from her seat, eyes starting to refocus. Klaus' presence brought with him a whole new kind of amplification that was beginning to boost the power she had received. "It's not that easy."

Klaus walked around the room, observing the young witch. She appeared composed, almost _too_ composed. He came to stand behind the chair she had chosen and observed her for a second, noticing how she kept her eyes trained away from him. If it wasn't for the erratic pound and pitch of her heart as he approached, and the scent of sweat on her palms, he would think she had ceased feeling anything around him at all.

"If you're looking for a way to send for help," Klaus said, lowering his head so he was speaking at her ear, "I will kill anyone who comes to your rescue."

Bonnie closed her eyes at the sensation of his breath on her skin. She turned to him and found his eyes still hard, his red lips in a stiff pout. She stared at him for a moment and felt her own eyes soften. She wanted to reach out and cradle his face. To tell him, _she would never betray him_. And she would never let him _feel_ betrayed again.

Her eyes stayed still as his scanned hers: he searched her emerald greens for something he both wanted and was afraid to find. Her whole expression was pleading. Her eyes were open and vulnerable. Kind. It almost irritated him how much he wanted to break. How much he wanted to lean forward and let her kiss him. Let her brush her fingers against his jaw, tap two fingers under his chin, and pull him to her.

"This is the spell, I just don't know if I'm strong enough."

Klaus pushed off of the chair and stepped away. "You should have a little more faith in yourself, Bonnie. Your energy is what helped our mother link us together," he watched as Bonnie stood and made his way back to her until he was standing right in front of her. He stopped only when his face was right in front of hers. "Honestly, I think someone isn't trying very hard."

A beat.

"Very well," Klaus said, turning from her and pulling a phone from his back pocket. He walked around the room as he spoke, keeping his eye on Bonnie who kept hers downcast. "Kol. How's the weather up there in mile-high city?"

Bonnie's entire body tensed, her eyes snapping up to meet his. Klaus _smirked_.

"And, how's our friend? May I see him?"

Bonnie frowned.

"You don't have to threaten me," Bonnie insisted softly under her breath, but Klaus ignored her.

He circled back to stand right behind her, raising the screen up so they both could see. Now, with his face scant inches from her, she felt nothing but cold, empty cruelty: "There's Jeremy, playing fetch with his new puppy." Bonnie clenched her teeth. "Isn't that just the most adorable thing you've ever seen?"

Klaus' eyes laughed at her as he turned back to the phone. "Thank you Kol, we'll be in touch."

"Now, Bonnie," he spun on his heel to face her again, "How about that spell?"

"Screw you," Bonnie said, her hands pulled into tight fists at her side.

Klaus' jaw ticked. "What was that?"

"I said," Bonnie enunciated each word. Now she was striding across the room to stand right in front of him. To even out their height difference, she raised her chin until their eyes met. "Screw. You."

Klaus frowned, "Now, Bonnie."

"You didn't have to threaten me," Bonnie said, raising a finger between them like she was lecturing a child. "I came here _willingly_."

"Your stalling could cost me my life," Klaus said, grabbing her finger and pulling it from his face. He moved it down, but didn't let go. Bonnie made no move to free herself.

"You don't understand," she squinted like she was seeing him for the first time. "I need time to build the power."

Klaus looked down at the young witch, her green eyes shimmering as she met his gaze. She was just as brave and determined as the day he first saw her, throwing Damon across the room. She twisted her hand in his, and he let her. Until their fingers were linked.

"I'm going to do the spell," Bonnie said.

"Jeremy," Klaus tore his eyes from hers. He made a small move to pull their hands apart but didn't. Touching her was like touching warm sand, the kind of soft, white sand that you wanted to sink your toes into. Their fingers danced together, brushing lightly against each other, skin ghosting against skin. He didn't allow himself the luxury of closing his hand on hers, of hold a part of her in his palm, and she avoided doing the same. She didn't want to push him too far – didn't want him to realize the small gift he had given her, this tiny comfort, and withdraw it as punishment. Neither dared look down to draw attention to the tender touch they shared in the middle of the storm.

And there it was. That spark in his chest, that ridiculously light feeling that he hadn't felt in days. That he had worked so hard to stifle! Klaus forced his expression to turn to stone: "You want to protect him. You're still in love with him."

Bonnie took her hand from his. Rubbed it against her jeans like she had touched something dirty. He turned from her as well, avoided the disappointment he saw in her eyes.

"For you," he heard the tremble in her voice as he left the room. "I'm doing this for you."

**KB**

Rebekah and Niklaus faced each other on the staircase.

"How's your prisoner?" Rebekah said, the last world rolling off her tongue deliciously as she plucked the edge of a wooden spike against her thumb.

"She is not a prisoner," Klaus frowned.

"She should be tied up like mine," Rebekah smiled wickedly. Klaus shot her a disapproving glare.

"You're awfully forgiving," he said at last.

"Life's too long," Rebekah emphasized the middle world with gravity before her lips turned up teasingly again: "to give up on _love_."

"Rebekah," Klaus warned.

"What," Rebekah said, a bored expression on her face. Damon groaned from the other room and she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me there wasn't something going on."

"Don't," he began.

"We all saw that kiss," she sang out.

"One more word," Klaus levelled his sister with a glare.

"Do you at least know why she came over?" Rebekah asked. When a beat passed in silence, she added: "Who rings the doorbell for their own death?"

Damon screamed again as he tried to pull his hand free from the snare and Rebekah sighed.

"Alright, lover," she called out to the Salvatore as she made her way back to him, "I know you miss me."

**KB**

"What was that?" Bonnie asked from her position beside a tall round table. Five candles stood in an open circle around a chalice on the table.

"I wouldn't let it bother you, love," Klaus said from across the room. He leaned against the wall with his hands crossed, appraising her. He had left and returned with the same hard expression, the same cold attitude. She had buried herself in the Latin, trying to ignore the cheap feeling of being nothing more than Klaus' walking spell-book.

"Well, it does bother me. You _bother_ me," Bonnie snapped in frustration. She ignored how he placed his hand over his heart mocking her – as if they idea of her hurting his feelings was amusing: "When you use people to get what you want; it's not right."

"You're being emotional, Bonnie," Klaus chastised her, and she felt a muscle twitch in her forehead at his amusement. He pushed off the wall and walked towards her with the same casual stride that she had once found incredibly attractive. _Okay_, Bonnie thought as she averted her eyes: that she still found attractive.

"I understand that things have been rough on you. You know, with your mother turning and leaving again." When Bonnie's eyes narrowed on him and her lips pulled into a scowl, he continued, pleased: "I haven't seen her around, I can only presume she's done what she does best."

Standing directly in front of her, he tilted his head and his eyes danced as he continued: "I can help you with that, if you want," he stared down at her, "I have people that can find people who can bring her back to you. Or if you choose, I can just bring parts of her back.

Bonnie pulled his arm from her grasp. She glared at him, feeling her temper rise to her temples. _He doesn't know_, she told herself. _He didn't mean it_. He doesn't know what Abby has done for them, has given up for them...

"Isn't it obvious," Klaus continued in the face of her silence: "I'm going to hurt the people you love until you do the spell?"

"It is," Bonnie agreed, crossing her arms in front of her as he walked away from her to the liquor cabinet. "You're terribly predictable."

Klaus almost laughed at that. "Now I know the spell is in the grimoire and I know it requires the blood of my siblings. So, here we are." He flipped open a leather case to reveal four large vials of blood that he named in turn: "Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, Finn." Klaus met her eyes for a moment before his eyes turned black and his fangs protruded. He expected her to wince, to shield her eyes. But she did neither until he bit into his own hand and he thought she saw, for a second, a hint of empathy.

Klaus tore at his flesh, letting the blood run down his wrist before closing his hand into a fist to trap the bleeding. "Where do you want us?"

Bonnie reached for a chalice on the table and held it under his closed fist. She raised her eyes at him as he released the pressure on his hand. He watched the blood drip into chalice while she kept her eyes on his. _Long lashes_.

"Did it hurt?" she asked softly.

"When you betrayed me?" He responded as quietly, turning his eyes to her now. She wasn't sure if they were dancing with amusement or anger. "Not in the least."

"I didn't," Bonnie said, setting the chalice down on the table. She fiddled with the candles as if their position actually meant something important. "I was never going to betray you, Klaus." She kept her eyes down, surprised that he had let her speak this long. He came to stand opposite her on the table, and she felt his eyes on her every move. Slowly, she started to untwist a cap of _Elijah_.

"Abby and I were going to block Esther's connection to our line," Bonnie said, surprised at how steady her voice was. She poured Elijah into the chalice with Klaus. "We were going to do it as soon as we got to the basement of the witch's house." She placed the empty vial back in the box with the others and took out _Rebekah_. She held the vial high as she poured it in. "I wasn't going to let her do it." She put the vial back with the others and, after struggling for a moment, uncapped _Kol_. This one she poured in slowly, rotating the edge of the vial along the rim of the chalice. "I told you, Klaus," her voice dropped now before she glanced at him, intending just a glance, when she found his eyes so intently on hers that she forgot to breath.

"You told me?" Klaus urged her on, his eyes glued to the beauty before him. She was always marvellous when she stood her ground. But it didn't feel like... enough.

"I always protect the people I love," Bonnie said, reaching for _Finn_ and letting an empty Kol fall to the floor at her feet. She turned the vial upside down and soon the chalice was full. She set it down and turned her full attention to Klaus now.

He could hear her heart pounding strong and steady in her chest. She licked her lips as she looked at him from over the chalice. _She looks tired_, Klaus thought suddenly. She looked like she had shrunken into herself. She raised her chin as she looked at him, and for the first time he noticed how it trembled. Her fingers lay flat on the table, like she didn't trust them at her sides.

"Bonnie," Klaus began.

"I know you're mad at me," she said simply.

A beat.

"I know you're mad at me," Bonnie said, "And I _should have_, I should have told you sooner what was going on it just happened so quickly." She was shaking her head now, her eyes watering as she took a step away from the chalice. She wiped her eyes clean, scraping the back of her palm hard against her cheek. She glanced at the chalice, like she was afraid even now that her tears would become mingled with the blood and ruin the spell. She was thinking of him.

"I'm mad, too," Bonnie said, and he recognized the fury in her eyes. "I've lost Abby, and I've lost," she exhaled, "you."

Klaus' jaw ticked. "You weren't working with my mother?"

"No," Bonnie insisted. "When I knew she was drawing on my line, I tried to keep my powers weak. I tried to stay away from you!" _I'm trying to save you_ – Bonnie's voice hit him like a punch to the gut.

"When she called Abby here," Bonnie's face twisted, "I didn't know what to do. I wanted to protect her, too. I didn't think..."

"You should have told me," Klaus said, his voice authoritative. "You kept it from me, and you almost destroyed everything."

Bonnie looked at Klaus for a moment. A single, beautiful moment where he thought he was in control – before she started laughing. She laughed until the shivers of her laughter turned to luscious tears that dotted her lashes. And then she sobbed.

"Of course," Bonnie said. "You _almost_ lost everything, so you're pissed off." She shook her head as she glared at him. "I _did_ lose everything. I lost Abby," she repeated like he hadn't heard her the first time. "I lost _you!_" She took a deep, steadying breath. "But I don't get to be angry. I don't get to be upset." She smirked, a move that was entirely too-Damon-like to make Klaus comfortable.

"And this is not even my war." She waved her hand at the ingredients to the spell before her. "This isn't my fight, it was _never_ my fight." She met Klaus' eyes now and the anger between the two of them was almost palpable. If the spell wasn't laid out on the table, he might have thrown it over in anger

"But I came back," Bonnie said, raising her hands above the table. With her mind, she made the chalice levitate. "I came back to do this for _you_. To free _you_."

"Bonnie..." Klaus took a step away from the table and she shook her head at him.

"Don't worry," Bonnie said, "I'm well-trained. I'm good at following orders."

Then she turned her eyes down and watched the chalice dip and spill the thick blood on the wood. Her lips moved of their own accord, the Latin spell sounding more furious and angry as her frazzled, charged emotions only made her powers stronger. They both watched as the flames shot up to the ceiling and the large pool of blood separated into five distinct parts.

Bonnie knew the spell had ended because the power whooshed out of her like the wind was being knocked out of her and funnelled into a tornado.

Klaus knew the spell had ended because when Bonnie looked up at him, at last, it wasn't with the spark that she had had before – her gaze wasn't angry, or even sorry. It was empty. Staring into her green eyes, he saw nothing but an emotionless abyss.

**KB**

"See you in physics class," Rebekah said, her voice dripping with faux sweetness as Klaus shuffled Bonnie downstairs. He had sat with her for a moment after he spell ended, but she hadn't spoken. He had rested his hand, palm up, on his leg beside hers, waiting for her to link her smaller fingers with his. But she didn't. Finally, he asked if she would like to go home, and she turned to him and nodded.

"What is that..." Bonnie gaped at the sight before her. Damon, hanging from the ceiling, blood pooled and pouring down his abdomen.

"Ah," Klaus said, a hand guiding the small of Bonnie's back. "It seems Damon hurt Rebekah's feelings."

Damon muttered something and if she didn't know any better, she'd think he was calling for her help. Bonnie took a step towards him, but paused when Klaus spoke again.

"Go on," he said, the tone of his voice stilling her. _What was she doing?_ She wasn't sure. Bonnie was following instincts. Bonnie was doing what she always did. She was going to where the damage was worst, and she was going to fix it. Except, _why couldn't she move_? Damon's icy eyes looked almost lifeless, and it struck her as strangely poetic. She blinked up at him, wondering if she should take that next decisive step forward when...

"Save the man who turned your mother."

Bonnie strode towards Damon. She ignored the sound of Rebekah's voice at her back, shrill and angry. She ignored Klaus' voice as he told Rebekah to relax. She knew, without looking, that he had probably extended a lazy but authoritative arm, declaring this no longer Rebekah's little project.

Bonnie ignored it all and let her instincts guide her.

"Damon," Bonnie said, unsure of where to look first. His wounds were grotesque. The sticky scent of blood invaded her nostrils. His eyes were half-dead as they looked at her.

"You killed Abby," she whispered and he lolled his head to one side. He looked so pathetic, she thought. So helpless. How easy it would be to walk out of there, to let him suffer for all the things he did to her... How easy to not be Bonnie.

"I'm going to help you," Bonnie said, one eyebrow ticking up as if she surprised even herself. She snapped her fingers and the chains broke. Damon came plummeting to the ground.

Bonnie turned and Rebekah's face, vamped out and veiny, was growling at her.

"Don't touch a hair on her head," Klaus said slowly from his position looking in, and Bonnie wasn't sure if he was talking to the vampire by his side, or the one at her feet.

"Control your witch," Rebekah snapped at her brother.

Bonnie ignored them as she kneeled to the floor where Damon lay. He looked up at her in confusion, his eyes empty and glazed over. His lips moved but no sound came out. Bonnie extended her right arm and began rolling up her sleeve.

"What are you doing?" Klaus barked out now, his voice booming across the mansion.

Damon turned his eyes to Bonnie's careful, almost medically precise movements, and they turned black with bloodlust. He was hesitant, as if he wasn't sure if he should wait for her to realize what she was offering, or if he should attack now before she changed her mind.

"I'm saving him," Bonnie said simply. "I'm returning him to Elena."

"Why?" Klaus asked, enraged. She would offer _Damon_ her blood? The man who, days before, snapped her mother's neck? When she had denied him even a sample? After she twisted her face in horror at he idea of feeding him.

Bonnie's green eyes sparked for the first time since the spell as she set them on Klaus.

"I can' walk away from this," she said with conviction, before she added with waning confidence: "I'm a good person."

She held his gaze, knowing there was so much more to say. _You can't walk away from this_, she wanted to say. _You hate this_, she wanted to remind him. She had seen it in his memories, had felt his own emotions: he hated himself every time he was forced to torture.

Well, Bonnie wouldn't let him do it. Certainly not for Rebekah's superficially hurt feelings. And definitely not for her.

"Stay out of family matters, witch," Rebekah snarled.

Bonnie didn't shift her gaze from Klaus as she held her hand out under Damon's nose.

"Shame," Klaus bit out, "No respect for your mother's life."

"I have nothing but respect," Bonnie said, her voice calm and even as she withdrew her hand slightly, "and gratitude." Damon bit back his instincts, forced himself to wait for Bonnie to be a willing blood bag before she gave him an aneurysm he wouldn't recover from.

"And to be clear," Bonnie said, turning her eyes on Damon at last. "Abby is dead."

The room fell silent.

"She didn't complete the transition," Bonnie announced. She was surprised to see Damon still at the information. She turned her head towards Klaus and found Rebekah's eyes on her older brother. As if it were his turn to move. "She died. She gave her life so I could save someone today."

Bonnie waited until Klaus' eyes were on hers, boring into hers, daring her to continue, before she concluded: "Someone I love."

Klaus' entire body stiffened.

_Damon_. _Jeremy. Klaus._ It could be any of them. Bonnie had done something to save them all tonight. Not to mention _Kol, Elijah_ and _Finn_. Klaus frowned at the ambiguity, but knew any other conclusion was absurd.

It was him. Bonnie's mother had died, so Bonnie could save him. And he had spent the day berating her. Using her. Showing her how undeserving of her love he really was.

Damon's fangs descended and, before Klaus knew what he was doing, he had the younger vamp by the throat up against the wall.

"You will _never_ drink from Bonnie Bennett," Klaus said, intending a threat, but pleased with how Damon's eyes dilated. Compulsion, a lovely treat. He shoved his head against the wall until he heard a delicious crack for punctuation.

"Don't hurt him," Bonnie said, rising to her feet. "You got what you wanted. I did your spell, so let him go."

Rebekah frowned. "Damon has nothing to do with Klaus, and everything to do with me."

Bonnie cast an appraising look at the blonde over her shoulder. "If this is how you treat a bruised ego, I don't want to know how you deal with a broken heart."

"You don't want to know how any of us deals with a broken heart," Rebekah warned the young witch. Then she cast a glance at Damon bleeding all over the ballroom wall and rolled her eyes as they returned to her natural color. "The game was over, anyway."

She walked away, and Bonnie knew it was more in deference to Klaus than anything else.

Bonnie turned back to Klaus in time to see him throw Damon to the ground.

"Call Stefan," Klaus said to the young witch. "Have him pick up his brother." He gave Damon a final kick to the gut before leaving. As he reached Bonnie, he grabbed her by the arm and forced her to walk backwards for a few steps before turning her around. She cast her head back to glance at the moaning Salvatore on the ground, and Klaus threw his arm over her shoulder to stop her.

He led her to her car outside and set her in.

"Bonnie," he said as she put the key in the ignition. He hovered over her driver's door, leaning forward and looking down on her like a demented angel. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Bonnie said, casting him a tired glance. "I'm not leaving until Damon does."

"I have half a mind to keep him here forever."

Bonnie tilted her head. "I can never tell if you like me or hate me."

"That we have in common," Klaus said.

"I'm tired," Bonnie admitted, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Klaus said, "About your mother. I didn't realize she was really gone." He reached out and ran a hand down the curve of her cheek. Bonnie shivered at his touch and leaned into it, too exhausted to be embarrassed by how much she needed it.

"I'm sorry about yours," Bonnie said.

When she opened her eyes, Klaus was on his knees beside her outside of the car, gazing up at her with a soft, gentle expression that she had missed. She couldn't help the smile that ticked up at the edges of her lips. He slid his hand down her cheek, trailed the back of his knuckles down her neck and collarbone. He turned his hand, cupped her arm in his palms and traced her form to the pulse point at her wrist. Without breaking eye contact, he pulled her hand into his and placed a tender kiss where her heartbeat was loudest.

"Don't ever," he said, his mouth still against her skin. Her lips parted at the sensation.

"This heart," he said, his eyes darkening as her heart rate increased, "is mine."


	19. At Last

**AN: Thank you for your reviews, favorites and follows! I really appreciate it and your patience. Also, I have a tumblr now (nicdelenf dot tumblr dot com), though I'm still figuring out how to use it =)**

**Special **_**thank you**_** and shout out to alla-matta for her lovely artwork. She's so talented and wonderful! Check out this AMAZING piece she did for our hero and heroine: alla-matta dot tumblr dot com /post/30045637394/one-of-the-best-klonnie-fics-ive-ever-read .**

**As usual, if M is not your thing, skip KB* sections! I apologize for the lack of plot... oops! I may have gotten carried away...**

_**At Last**_

He watched her drive home in silence.

As they waited for Stefan to arrive, he had run the nooks and crannies of her hands against his still lips: between the thumb and forefinger, the tip of her pinkie, the centre of her palm where her life line ran. Without speaking, they watched as the two brothers left the mansion muttering about revenge and secrets. Her green eyes turned to his, and she bit her lip hesitantly as he clasped her hand in both of his. She opened her mouth to speak, but raised a finger to her lips to keep the words in.

_Someone I love_, Bonnie had said earlier. She loved him. What more was there to say?

Klaus had let go of her hands, pretended not to notice the desolated expression as her face fell – forced the shamefully gleeful smile from spreading on his face – and made his way to the passenger side of the car.

Bonnie turned her eyes to the hybrid beside her, one brow artfully raised.

"Well, love," he had said, his lips pulling up at the corner, "Shall we go home?"

And then he watched her drive in silence.

Bonnie was abnormally focused on the road before her. _This heart is mine_, he had said. The words echoed in her head, chilling her deliciously. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and drove faster. She wasn't sure what had inspired him to leave his house with her. She wasn't sure why he didn't try to convince her to stay. And she really wasn't sure why he was devouring her with his eyes without saying a damn word.

All she knew was what he had meant by _home_, and exactly where she was heading. Sheila's house.

When they arrived, Klaus exited the car before Bonnie.

With a raised brow, she opened her car door and joined him at the front of her car. His hands were hooked casually in his pockets, his eyes averted away from her, seemingly focused on the house before him. Bonnie moved to stand next to him, peering at the house herself before glancing at him again, an unimpressed expression on her face – to find him looking at her with dancing eyes.

Klaus turned away as soon as Bonnie glanced at him. A smile tugged on his face that had him shaking his head with embarrassment. Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, Klaus let a hand fall from his pocket and brush deliberately against hers. He watched the blush hit her cheeks as their fingers ghosted against each other. Slowly, he slid his palm against hers until their fingers were locked together. Rubbing his thumb against the side of her hand, Klaus turned now to meet Bonnie's bright eyes. She smiled at him and he felt a ripple of proud pleasure resound in his chest.

Bonnie was a mess of butterflies. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, her nerves tingled with awareness – and for once, it wasn't because of danger. Well, it wasn't because of _unwelcome_ danger. She licked her lips as her gaze fell on his red ones. But he turned his eyes forward and headed towards the house.

"Thank you," he said, breaking the silence at last as he stood on the edge of the porch.

"You're welcome," Bonnie said with gravity.

"For letting me see you home," Klaus added, "as well."

Bonnie offered another small smile that made him flex his hand against hers. She chewed her lip with hesitation. "Anytime."

"Goodnight," he said, holding her gaze.

Bonnie flushed from the intensity of his attention. It was so quiet all around them, wrapped up in a purple and grey sky. He raised her hand to his mouth again, and she felt her heart flutter as he paused, letting his breath hit her skin before his lips did.

Bonnie cleared her throat, shaking her head slightly to clear her mind as well. "Goodnight," she said softly.

She took a step forward, but he held his stance. Their hands brushed together as she moved towards the door. When her arm was extended, only linked to him by her small finger, he leaned forward, grabbed he hand and tugged her towards him as if they were dancing.

Bonnie crashed into Klaus' chest, her lashes fluttering in surprise. When she looked up at him, he had a sly, teasing smile on his face. Her heart thudded in her chest as he lowered his face towards hers.

"You didn't think you'd get off that easily," Klaus wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed the shiver of heat that ran through her, "Did you?"

Bonnie smirked, running her hand from where it had landed on his chest up his neck to twist in his hair. She dragged her nails against his scalp and watched his eyes flash yellow. She arched a brow, "I hoped not."

"Bonnie," Klaus breathed, leaning forward to nip at her chin.

Bonnie shivered at the contact, rising up on her toes until her lips brushed lightly against his. He made no move to kiss her, but his grip tightened on her hip. "Niklaus," she answered him, and he tasted her sweet whisper on his tongue.

"Don't tempt me," he warned but it came out more a plea as his eyes flashed and stuck yellow.

"The best way to avoid temptation," Bonnie said, letting her lips play against his jawline as he turned his head from her in an attempt to return them to cool blue, "is to give in."

Klaus loosened his grip on the young witch to run his hands up and down her sides. He was beyond subtle now: he abandoned soft grazes quickly to slide his hands possessively under her shirt to feel every smooth curve from her hips to her shoulder blades. She took a step into him and, slowly, ran her hands under his shirt.

"You're so soft," he whispered, feeling his muscles tense and flex under her palms.

"And you're _not_," Bonnie teased, running her nails against his back. Klaus growled in response. He pulled her tight against him, and she felt exactly how hard he was. Her heart thudded so hard she thought it would jump out of her chest.

And then his mouth was on her collarbone and she couldn't think at all.

"Oh," she heard the moan escape her lips without realizing it. He palmed her ass, holding her in place against him as he licked his way up her neck. He paused when he reached her pulse point, forcing himself to slow as her heart hypnotized him. He trailed open mouthed kisses up her throat as she rocked against him, pressed against him with purpose. When she dipped her head back in surrender, he kissed the tender corner where her neck met the underside of her jaw. Then he nipped her chin. Then he kissed her.

Klaus' kiss was slow, warm and overwhelming. Bonnie was certain she wouldn't be able to remember her name when he was done with her. He cradled her face in his palm like he was scared he'd break her. His lips moved against hers so languidly that she felt completely hypnotized – like she was floating in a smooth tide. And then there was the iron grip of his hand on her hips and backside, keeping her in place and tempting her with the promise of the pleasure he could deliver.

When she moaned his name, Klaus had to bite back his instincts to press her against a wall. He wanted to hear it again, so he sucked on her ear and she rewarded him with a pleased cry. He sucked on the skin beneath her ear, pleased when he pulled back to see her skin redden. There would be a mark in the morning. And everyone would know she was his.

_Much better than a borrowed shirt._

"Maybe I should..." Bonnie breathed, bracing herself on his arms before taking a step back, "Go inside."

Klaus frowned. "Alone?"

Bonnie smirked before turning on her heel and heading to the door. Her hips swayed in time with her heart beat. Klaus raised a hand to his lips as he watched her fiddle with her key.

"You already said goodnight," Bonnie teased, glancing from over her shoulder just in time to see Klaus' gaze harden with what she had come to know as his _challenge-accepted_ face.

In the space of a breath, she found herself between the closed door and Klaus' body, his chest against her back.

"Bonnie," he began invitingly, his voice tickling her ear. She shivered, which was a mistake because it had her pressing more tightly against his body. "Have I ever told you," she could hear his smile in his voice as his hands found her hips, "how beautiful you are?"

Bonnie cleared her throat. "All the time."

Klaus smiled against her skin, and when he spoke again, it was right into her throat. "From behind?"

Bonnie let out a nervous laugh as his hands slipped under her shirt again. This time, they moved to the front, marking a hot trail across her torso until they cupped her breasts. She let out a moan as his fingers found her nipples. He traced circles with his thumbs and she shuddered into his touch. She moved to turn around but found her arms grasped by the wrist above her head.

"Uh-uh," Klaus tsk-tsked her, "Easy, love."

"Niklaus," Bonnie complained, turning her head towards him and licking her lips, "I want to touch you."

Klaus moved his hand from her breast and was surprised at how pleased he was when she tried to press herself into him, and pouted at the absence of his warmth. He slid his hand down her stomach. "Did I ever tell you about this," he bit out the word, "fantasy I have?"

Bonnie stilled as he splayed his fingers across her stomach, playing with the waistband of her panties. "N-no."

"Naturally, you're naked."

Bonnie laughed softly. "Naturally."

"And you're in front of me," Klaus pulled her tightly against him with a smile. "Like this."

"Sure it's not," Bonnie pressed her ass into him and focused her magic to slide his hand back to her breast, "Like this?"

"Yes," Klaus muttered, increasing his grip on her breast and grinding against her ass with a growl. Bonnie leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as ripples of pleasure and anticipation rushed through her.

"I want you," Klaus said, pressing a wet kiss to her nape, "Just like this."

"On my grandmother's porch?" Bonnie managed to get out, feeling her brain fog over.

"In front of a mirror," Klaus promised, "So you can see when I take you."

Bonnie shuddered at the thought.

"And you can see how gorgeous you are," Klaus smiled into her skin, "when you come."

"Klaus..."

"I want you to see," he said lowly, placing a chaste kiss on her shoulder as his hand moved from her breast to flick the button of her jeans open. "Exactly what I do to you."

The zipper of her jeans seemed so much louder in the tense quiet of the night.

"I want you to see what no other man could ever do to you," he slipped his hand into her panties and smiled victoriously to find her soft and warm and wet.

"If you don't," Bonnie swallowed loudly, "come inside with me right now..."

"Yes?" Klaus said, sliding a finger against her folds. He had to close his eyes at the memory of her taste.

"_Everyone_ on the block is going to see," she bit out, though she rubbed against him hungrily.

Klaus grinned and returned his hands to his pockets. "So, I'm coming in?"

"Yes," Bonnie said, feeling her cheeks flush at the pleading sound of her voice. "Come in."

**KB***

Klaus followed Bonnie into the home with the smug, self-assured but quiet grace of a predator. She was a full two strides ahead of him when he slipped into the house and clicked the door closed behind him. She took her purse off and let it fall to the floor. She stepped out of her shoes and stretched her toes. She pulled her hair about, about to wrap it into a pony tail, when Klaus cleared his throat.

"Don't do that, love," he said, his face scrunched in distaste.

Bonnie let go of her hair, letting the loose waves fall around her shoulders. "Don't tell me what to do."

Klaus smiled, nodding as if giving his royal permission. "Take your top off."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him, her jaw ticking for just a moment before she pulled her top up and off. She watched his eyes flutter to her breasts and stomach as she walked backwards away from him. With one hand on her hips, she raised her chin and Klaus couldn't help but find her irresistible.

"Jeans next?" Bonnie suggested.

"I am amenable to that." Klaus said, feigning disinterest though the way his eyes stuck to her like glue told another story.

Bonnie smirked, hooking her hands in the waistband and shimmy-ing them down. She stepped out of them and twisted a tendril of hair around a finger. She kept her eyes on his for three seconds before turning around and giving him a view she knew he appreciated. She spared a glance over a shoulder as she made her way to the stairs that would take them to her room.

"Well?" Bonnie teased, reaching one hand behind her to flick her bra open.

Klaus wanted to respond, knew he should respond, but suddenly found his mouth dry and wordless. So he stalked towards her instead. He was beside her, turning her around to face him, before her bra even hit the floor.

"What took you so long?" she teased.

"Enjoying the show," he said before glancing down and inhaling a sharp breath. He touched her more gently now, running his hands from hip to collarbone and back like he was giving her a massage. He leaned forward to suck the flesh of her breast into her mouth, trailing open kisses across her body before returning to the centre of her chest and dragging his teeth gently across her skin. He flicked his tongue over her nipples and she cried out in pleasure.

Bonnie's back was arched unhappily against the stair case railing, but she didn't care. All she could care about – all she could think about – was the warmth that hit her everywhere Klaus touched. And he wasn't just handsome or sexy, like he had been at the ball. Now, when Klaus paused to look up at her from her navel, she saw someone she loved. Someone precious. Someone she would always protect.

"You should never wear clothes," Klaus said, laying open-mouthed kisses from her waist to her hips and back. He paused to admire the redness of her skin as her fingers twisted and curled in his hair. "I love when you get naked for me," Klaus continued, crouching lower as he hoisted her up. She rolled her eyes in response. Soon, her arms braced on the railing, she could hold her weight on her elbows as Klaus began to put her knees over either shoulder. "Should I reward you?"

"Klaus," Bonnie shuddered at the sensation of his breath hitting her skin.

He ran his finger along the edge of her underwear. Practical powder blue cotton that he pressed his thumb into at its dampest point. Bonnie jerked into his touch, and within seconds, he had ripped them from her.

"I liked those," Bonnie frowned.

"You'll like this better," Klaus promised. Her scent hit him like a punch to the gut. He ran his tongue against her thigh, biting her flesh without piercing her skin. Her fingers tugged on his hair and she shuddered under his touch. He scooped her up brought her closer to him. She let out a hiss of breath, and that was all the encouragement he needed. Klaus kissed Bonnie until she was shuddering against him and couldn't remember her name.

"Oh... God..." Bonnie muttered as she melted into Klaus' embrace. He sat on the stair case, cradling her limp body in his arms.

"Nope, just me," he teased.

Bonnie smiled up at him, her eyes dazed and dizzy. She scrunched her nose. "You're still wearing clothes."

"I am," he agreed with a smile as he ran his hand up and down her soft thighs.

"I can fix that," Bonnie said. She moved to straddle Klaus, and he felt his hips jerk as her hot centre hovered above him – nothing separating him but a pair of jeans. She ran a hand up and down one cheek, her green eyes meeting his blue-yellow ones for a second before she began laying kisses on his jaw. She appreciated every corner of his neck, pausing to suck deliberately over his pulse. Everywhere her soft lips touched, his body lit up with light and lightness. He could practically feel his eyes crossing when her hand fell between them and began to trail up his chest under his shirt.

"You," Bonnie whispered as she caught his ear in her teeth. He growled in response, his fingers gripping her hips tightly. When she pulled back, she saw his eyes closed and mouth parted. "are so sexy."

Klaus smirked. "Tell me something I don't know."

"You're going to get lucky tonight," Bonnie teased, pulling his shirt up over his chest. She blinked down at him as he shifted under her. He moved to kiss her breasts again, but Bonnie pulled away. He frowned and tried again, but she held out a hand to stop him with her magic. Bonnie slipped off his lap to the lower step.

"My turn," she said softly, and who was he to complain?

Bonnie did what she had been longing to do since she saw him topless in the light of the fire place. She started on his hip bones: sucking and biting as his hips jerked underneath her mouth. He laughed at his involuntary reactions and she giggled into his skin. She moved her way to his navel, and up to his nipples where she had him shivering and reaching for her again. She pinned his hands back with her magic. Crawling over him, she sucked on his wrists and made her way up his arms, pausing to place open mouthed kisses in his elbows. She dragged her teeth across his chest and ran her nails against his back, liberal and generous with her lips and teeth and tongue.

"You taste good," Bonnie teased as she pressed her breasts against his chest and nipped at his throat. "For a dog."

Klaus laughed but was cut short when she reached between them and flicked his jeans button open. His muscled ripped underneath her. Now it was his turn to arch awkwardly over the stairs as she took her time tugging his jeans off.

Then it was Klaus' turn to be tortured. Bonnie started with the back of his knees: ticklish. She moved up to his thighs which had his head leaning back against the stair above him as he alternated between muttering her name and hissing in sharp breaths. Finally, when she ran her tongue over the main attraction and his groans turned to pleas, Bonnie felt a sort of powerful she had never felt before.

"Stop," Klaus groaned after a few seconds. He slid his naked butt down the stairs and pulled Bonnie on top of him. She wasted no time in pressing her slick, hot core against him which had him cursing even as his hands grabbed her hips and held her in place.

"Not enjoying it?" Bonnie asked as they shared a kiss.

"Too much," Klaus said, blinking his eyes until the yellow melted back to blue. He glanced around behind her with a smirk, "And definitely too much for the staircase."

"We don't have a bed," Bonnie frowned.

"We can get one."

"But I want you _now_," She slid herself against him, like she was riding him, and Klaus' jaw ticked.

Klaus wrapped his hand behind her and scooped her up in one easy move without detaching them where it mattered most. She buried her face in his neck, closed her eyes and inhaled his scent as he took her through her childhood halls. He paused for a moment at her door before turning around – so she was facing the room and he was facing the hall – and kicking it open behind him.

Her gasp warmed his heart. She scrambled to be let go, and he set her gently on the ground. She entered the room with wonder on her face, her naked body glowing in the moonlight. A king sized bed lay in one corner with thick white sheets. White, semi-sheer curtains hung over the large bay window. There was small breakfast nook in one corner, the table mustard yellow with teal chairs, and two dressers against a wall with a closet door in the middle. On top of each dresser was a large suitcase.

"What..." Bonnie shook her head as if she couldn't believe it. She swung on her heel to face him, and the image of her naked body in the moonlight with her hair swaying behind her, was almost enough to do him in.

"I bought it," Klaus shrugged, glancing around. He had had a lot of time waiting around for her after their first night there. A lot of time to buy and contract and create the right escape for them. A home.

"You..." Bonnie blinked up at him in awe.

"I saw those... notches in the door," he tried to appear as nonchalant as possible given the nudity, "And knew this house was yours." He smiled when her face lit up. "You belong here."

Bonnie smiled softly, her eyes watering as she walked up to him, rose up on her toes, and pressed her lips hard against his. "I love you," she whispered against his lips. He placed a hand on the small of her back and kissed her again – deeper this time, more desperate, more grateful.

"I've... loved you," Klaus admitted, hating how the words stuck momentarily in his throat, "Longer than you know."

"_You_ belong here," Bonnie said, wiping at the tears that threatened to fall. She took his hand and pressed it flat over her heart.

Klaus let his hand drop and trail between them. He ran it over her hip and behind her to squeeze her butt and pull her closer to him. "You wanted a bed."

Bonnie grinned, feeling her whole body flush as she realized her nakedness. "Always two steps ahead of me, huh?"

Klaus returned her smile, scooping her up and setting her on the bed. She lay on her side watching him, and he joined her. "It's not a contest."

"No," Bonnie agreed as he ran his hand gently up and down her leg. "Even if it were," she held his gaze as he leaned forward, resting her gently on her back, "we'd be on the same side."

Klaus' lips ticked up for a second before he kissed her.

Bonnie was swooning. She wasn't sure if it was because of the way he was kissing her: deep and slow, like he was taking time to learn every corner of her mouth. Or, if it was because of the way he held her: though he hovered above her, cradled between her thighs, his hand on the small of her back kept her close to him. She was totally crowded by him, and she loved it. Maybe it was his scent: he smelled so delicious it made her mouth water. Or maybe it was the way he pulled back for a second and smiled at her. That smile could set her heart on fire.

"Klaus," Bonnie breathed out between kisses. She arched her hips into him, rubbed herself against him in invitation.

"Bonnie," Klaus teased, pecking her nose. He shifted against her and had them both gasping and moaning in pleasure. He did it again, and closed his own eyes against the sensation. He paused to whisper against her ear, "You want me."

Bonnie laughed and rubbed against him more. She could feel that sweet sensation building again as he ground against her. He captured her moans with his mouth as he did it again, and again.

"Baby," Bonnie pouted, and he stilled at the endearment. Blinking at her, he met her eyes as she continued. "I need you." She shuddered as she pressed against him. "Please..."

Klaus froze. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he stared down at the goddess beneath him. Her hair was tossed on the pillow underneath her, her brown skin dazzling in the moonlight. He wanted to sink into her – had wanted it for so long. He could close his eyes and imagine that her body would be as warm and inviting and irresistible as she was. He moved back a bit and found himself poised at her entrance.

_This is it_, he thought. After this, there would be no recovery. There was no recovering from a love like this – there was no going back to the cheap imitation.

"I've waited," Bonnie muttered incoherently, "_So_ long. For you."

Klaus slid into her to a chorus of moans, to the encouragement of her clenching thighs and raising hips, to the sensation of her sharp nails against his back. Her ankles pressed against his butt, spurring him on until he was the one who was shuddering.

Bonnie raised her hips to spur him on, to let him now she wanted more, but he placed a hand on her hip and whispered in her ear: "Not yet."

She tried again, and he held her in place. "Stop."

"Klaus," Bonnie pouted. She squirmed underneath him. The sensation was _so good_, she knew she was going to come any second now. His weight on her, his skin against her skin, the luscious sounds he made as he had moved inside of her. The pressure of him was teasing her. "I'm close," she said, trying to grind against him.

But he stopped her.

"Shhh," he smiled into the skin at her throat, dragging his face across her cheek and planting a sloppy kiss on her lips. "I'm enjoying this."

"We're not moving," Bonnie whispered back.

"You're warm," Klaus continued against her lips. "And tight." He nipped at her lip, drawing blood before running his tongue over it. "I don't want to leave."

Bonnie threw her arms more tightly around him. "You can always come back."

Klaus grinned. "Tell me again."

"I love you," she said.

Klaus rewarded her by adjusting his angle and sliding out before thrusting back in.

"Yes," Bonnie said, her brows knitting together, "Just like that."

"Again," he said, more roughly this time. He was already pulling out of her, so when she replied it was more of a moan: "I love you."

_I love you. I love you. I love you._

"I love you, too," Klaus said, his words falling off his tongue with ease as the rhythm took over.

Klaus glared at her like she was edible. His eyes were yellow and glazed over, a sheen of sweat forming on his forehead. She ran her hands up and down his arms, nipped at his muscles for a moment, and then captured his mouth.

"Come for me," Klaus said, pushing in hard and slow before doing it again. He licked the sweat from between her breasts before adoring her body with enough sensation to leave her shuddering. She said his name again, and he insisted: "Come with me inside you."

Bonnie fell apart. Klaus closed his eyes against the sensation and followed right after, wrapped up in her: the sound of her cries, the scent of her sweat, the heat of her body, and the luscious, bright flash of her pleased, satisfied smile.

**KB**

Afterwards, Klaus carried Bonnie to the bathroom and helped her shower clean. There was a new toothbrush on the counter, and in the suitcases she found their clothes – and some new colourful, lacy pieces – neatly folded. He wore basketball shorts to sleep. The satiated smile on his face was so adorable that she couldn't find the energy to tease him. She chose one of his shirts, and his smile only grew.

He kept his hands on her for the rest of the night. He carried her when he could. He guided her around the room with his hands on her shoulders, the small of her back. He rubbed her feet and kissed her spine when she got cozy in bed. Finally, he pulled her on top of him, tucking her into the nook of his arm. She rubbed her cheek against his chest and paused to place a quick kiss on his skin before drifting off to dreams.

As Bonnie slept, Klaus closed his eyes and was surprised to find none of it was dreaming after all.

Bonnie Bennett – good, moral, sweet, warm, beautiful Bonnie Bennett – loved him. Loved. _Him_.

He tightened his arms around her and placed a kiss to her forehead. This moment wouldn't last, he knew. He could already hear her phone ringing downstairs for the fifth time before going to voicemail. He had lived too long to think anything was forever.

But even this moment – however brief and flickering it was – was all he had wanted, all he had needed. Perhaps not for a long time in an Original's life, but with such intensity that it had blinded him to everything else. He had wanted her love with such single-minded desperation that it seemed like he had dreamed of it all his life.

_To be loved by someone good, _he thought again. Bonnie stirred in his arms, let out a little huff of air and rubbed her hand absently over his chest. He didn't want to leave and he would do whatever it took – _whatever _it took – to stay there, by her side, as long as he could.

And if anyone got in his way... well, now he had an all powerful witch on his side.

A powerful witch who purred in her sleep.


	20. This One Girl

**To AN: Hi everyone! Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows! It's awesome how much Klonnie love there is out there. Just wanted to let you know that there are still a few chapters more to go, so hang in there =) !**

**[Warning: there is a tense-change in here, I hope it's not an awkward shift, I just thought the scene sounded better that way].**

_**This One Girl**_

Until he woke with her in his arms, Klaus had thought that Bonnie felt like sunshine. But as they woke up in the newly purchased house, the sun streaming in through the bay window, Klaus realized that the fragile, beautiful creature was something more than sunlight. She was soft and warm against his chest, her skin as smooth as sand – the kind of sand you want to curl your toes into. There was a weight and a fullness to her than intangibles couldn't touch.

Bonnie was a reality, a truth. And she was his.

Bonnie curled up against Klaus as she awoke. She nuzzled her nose against his chest, taking a deep breath of his scent before turning to look up at him. His eyes were closed, but the hybrid was clearly awake: big dimples timidly marred his face. Bonnie grinned at the sight and leaned forward to nip at his chin. His hand tightened on her waist as he pulled her more fully on top of him.

"Good morning," she whispered with a low, sleepy laugh. She punctuated her greeting with a peck to his lips. "Sleep well?"

He nodded, but still didn't open his eyes.

Bonnie wrapped her arms around him and let her body settle fully on top of him. "Still sleeping?"

"No," he offered, the smile tugging a corner of his cheek up.

Bonnie traced his lips with a finger. His eyes snapped open then, and she felt her face rush with a shy blush at the way he stared at her with such intent attention. As if every movement was precious, every breath invaluable. Like any second, she would disappear. "What do you want to do today?"

Klaus grinned and ran a hand down her spine, eliciting lovely electric thrills wherever their skin touched. He raised his knees, forcing her legs to part and her body to slide more fully on top of his. Then he grabbed the small of her back and spun her around so she was tucked neatly underneath him – where ever the jealous sun couldn't reach her. "This."

Bonnie laughed up at Klaus. She wrapped her fingers up in his hair. The sunlight hit him from behind, giving the hybrid the odd look of a halo-ed angel. She arched up to kiss him softly. "And after this?"

"We're going for a walk in town," Klaus declared, moving her hair from where it had fallen over her neck. A dark brown spot with a light red tinge, the size of a quarter, decorated her neck on one side. A matching mark was under her left ear. He kissed the spots with territorial pleasure. "So everyone will know you're mine."

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"What?" Klaus teased, pulling at her bottom lip. "It's a werewolf thing."

"Sure," Bonnie conceded. She ran her hands up and down his sculpted arms. "But I meant, what are we going to do about Esther? How are we going to deal with the fall out with the Salvatores? How are we going to explain... us?"

"My mother is powerless without her connection to you," Klaus said, stealing another kiss. "As for the rest of the Mystic Falls residents..." he placed a short, ticklish kiss to the heart of her throat, "I told you. We're going to take a walk in town."

Bonnie's forehead scrunched even as she was tempted to forget all of Mystic Falls and get lost in the sensations of the kisses he started raining on her neck and ears. "They'll want an explanation..."

Klaus stopped kissing her. "Do you want to explain?"

Bonnie's nose scrunched up. "No..."

"Then don't," Klaus said. "You owe them nothing. If they're really your friends, your happiness is answer enough."

He paused, as if he had asked a question. Bonnie responded by draping her arms languidly over Klaus' shoulders and pulling him in for another kiss.

"You make me happy," she whispered as she rubbed her naked thighs against his legs. He returned her kiss with restrained hunger, and soon they both forgot the outside world existed at all.

**KB**

Their hands were linked and swinging between them as they made the long, slow walk from her Grams' house to town. Klaus wore a dress shirt under a blue v-neck sweater that Bonnie insisted her put on as the wind had picked up and there was a chill in the air.

"Vampires don't catch colds," Klaus had pointed out.

"Witches like snuggling," Bonnie said, rubbing her face against the cashmere. Klaus had laughed and given in. The edges of the dress shirt stuck out from the hem of the sweater, and he rolled the sleeves up so when their hands met, he could get the occasional jolt of skin against skin. Bonnie wore an oversized cream-colored sweater he bought her that fell to her hips, over grey skinny jeans and dark red ankle boots. She was just the right height to angle her chin, tug on his, and steal a kiss.

"This is..." Bonnie said, as they came to a small park half-way to town. "Strange."

"What is?" Klaus asked, his voice tickling her fingers as he raised her palm to his lips for a kiss.

"Walking with you," Bonnie said slowly, though that didn't seem quite right. She let go of his hand to sling it around him, and found herself tucked under his shoulder. He threw his arm over her shoulder and played with her loose, wavy hair. She scrunched her nose, gazing up at him.

Klaus mirrored her expression. "I walk."

"You swagger," Bonnie corrected with a grin.

Klaus chuckled deliciously, his head falling back as dimples appeared. Bonnie shivered from pleasure at the sound. She walked ahead of him to the bench and took a seat on one edge. He sat on the other side, extending his arm out on the back edge. Slouching, he started to play with her hair again.

"I meant," Bonnie said hesitantly, "Being with you is so... easy."

"I told you," Klaus said, turning to her. He tugged her hair lightly to pull her closer. She conceded and shifted closer on the bench. He curled his fingers around her shoulder and slid her towards him until she was tucked in his arms. Then he looked down at her with a wicked smile: "Giving in to me is the best decision you'll ever make."

"I'm sure," Bonnie smirked. Then she titled her face up and caught his lips in a sweet kiss. When she moved to pull away, he held her firmly in place and slanted his lips across hers. Bonnie shivered from the way he kissed and she thought absently that she would never get accustomed to that – the way his smooth, soft lips pressed firmly against hers. The way her eyes felt like they would cross, and her knees weaken. She didn't realize she was leaning all her weight against him until he pulled away the space of an inch, and she found herself wrapped up in his arms.

"Klaus," she let out a shaky breath as her face turned bright red. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" he said, rubbing his nose against hers. He leaned down to steal another kiss. Bonnie could feel her power positively buzzing between them, making her heart pound. Klaus's jaw ticked as he bit back the black vampire eyes that threatened to appear – that would scare her away.

"Make me feel..." Bonnie whispered, her eyes glazing over as she caught sight of his lips again. Now it was her turn to kiss him senseless. She moved to capture his mouth again, but he pulled back an inch.

"Feel what?" he insisted.

"Like I'm floating," she whispered, and he let her kiss him then. And as she kissed him, he tightened his arms around her. The wind whipped up around them, but he wouldn't let her feel the chill. She would only feel warmth after this – warm and safe and beloved.

They walked across Wickery Bridge, and Bonnie forgot, for the first time, the tragedy that had befallen her friends there. There, Elena lost her parents and Bonnie almost lost her best friend. There, Stefan saved Elena and officially brought vampires into their naive lives. There, Klaus took Bonnie's hand in his and stopped walking as she continued forward. The light resistance to her movement had her turning back and being pulled into him, as if they were dancing.

And then, as easily, they were.

"This bridge was not always here," Klaus said.

"Obviously not," Bonnie teased. Her fingers were locked in his, her head pressed against his chest. He spun her out slowly, enjoying the sound of her playful laughter – the sight of her bright smile – before wrapping her back in his arms.

"It was a small river where a certain, devastatingly handsome hybrid," Klaus said, dipping her. He lowered his voice as he spoke in her ear, "got his first kiss..."

Bonnie blinked up at him. "Really?"

"Really," Klaus said, nipping at her neck before pulling her up again.

Bonnie scrunched her nose. "Who was she?"

Klaus grinned wickedly, but said nothing.

"Was she prettier than me?" Bonnie asked, clearing her throat.

"Has such a being ever existed?" Klaus responded.

"Was she a better kisser than me?" Bonnie smiled, and he took a step backward, pushing her back into the bridge's railing.

"Hmm," Klaus pretended to think as he leaned forward.

"Did you love her?" Bonnie couldn't help the way her heart thudded at the question.

Klaus paused, hovering scant inches from her mouth. He could hear her heart pounding, could feel her fingers tightening in the thick fabric of his sweater as she waited for a response. He let his hand slide down her body lightly until he had her wrist in his hand. Pushing the fabric up her arm, he exposed the skin, and heard the echoing drum of her pulse more clearly. He had to close his eyes against the temptation of it.

"Did you?" Bonnie's brow furrowed as Klaus pressed his thumb against her wrist. He was raising it to his lips, presumably to kiss her again, but he wasn't saying anything. Just staring at her with those studious bedroom eyes.

"Klaus?" Bonnie asked. He spread his hand over the small of her back and with one sharp tug, had her pressed against him.

"Bonnie," he said, trailing her wrist against his lips. When his eyes flashed up to meet hers, Bonnie's heart rate tripled and she finally understood.

He wanted to bite her.

"Kl.." she began in warning, but he interrupted her with the softest, most tender kiss to the inside of her palm. His eyes closed as he ran his teeth lightly against her skin.

"I love _you_," Klaus said. He inhaled her scent, trailing his lips down her forearm, nipping lightly as he went. "Whatever this feeling is," he let out a shaky breath that had Bonnie's knees melting, "it is," Bonnie gasped as his fangs extended against her skin without puncturing it, "and always will be yours."

Bonnie's voice died in her mouth as she gazed up at him. Anyone walking by would think they were locked in a passionate embrace. No one walking by would know that Bonnie was seconds away from... _from what, Bonnie?_ From trusting him.

Klaus let out an anguished breath as he released his grip on her arm. "It is," he hesitated as he sought the right words, "Not _easy_ to restrain myself..."

"The best way to avoid temptation," Bonnie whispered, not removing her arm from his lips, "is to give in."

Klaus' eyes met hers like an electric shock. And there it was again: that galloping heart, begging for his attention. There it was – that haunting, craving crawling inside of him, telling her to sample and to savour. To indulge.

Klaus placed a branding kiss to the inside of her wrist, opened his mouth and...

"Will it hurt?" Bonnie asked suddenly.

Klaus withdrew as his eyes turned up to meet hers again. "I have never been bitten."

"Guess we know what I'm doing next, then," Bonnie joked lightly.

Klaus's smile ticked up on one side, "I am told it is excruciating."

"Ouch," Bonnie muttered.

He nodded his head to one side as if in thought, "They scream a lot."

Bonnie frowned. "Not funny."

"Relax," Klaus teased. "It's not like I'm Stefan."

"Extra not funny," Bonnie said, but there was a ghost of a smile there.

A brow ticked up. "Are you backing out?" But Bonnie heard, _are you backing down?_

Bonnie squared her jaw and turned her head. She refused to close her eyes. "Do your worst."

Klaus smiled against her skin. Her heart started to pick up again as she angled her hips into his. Klaus' other hand found the small of her back, and he let it drift to her butt. With a strategic squeeze, Klaus had Bonnie's eyes back on him just in time for his fangs to sink into her skin.

The pain was sharp, but brief. After that, Bonnie felt nothing but his lips on her skin. The combination of his wet lips and the cool air had shivers running through her that turned to shudders when he growled and pulled her closer. _Could he do no wrong with that mouth_?

A trembling sigh escaped her lips that she hoped he didn't hear. But Klaus heard it – her pleasure almost made his eyes black out. _Will it hurt, _she had asked. _How could he ever hurt her? _Even now, with fragile tendrils of her blood spiralling around his tongue, the vampire's hunger could not overcome the werewolf's protectiveness – let alone the man's single-minded love. It could never be a match for _this_.

When Klaus pulled away at last, he ran a fang down the length of his finger and offered the blood to the green eyed beauty at his side. Bonnie took his palm in both of her hands and brought it to her mouth. With a playful smile, she guided his finger into her mouth, swirled her tongue over the blood, and sucked until she felt the wound close.

"Bonnie!" Klaus tried to scold her as his finger fell free, but his eyes were filled with lust and his voice was too heavy and needy to incite fear. Her lips on his skin, as usual, had him in a tailspin. He wanted her. And her racing heart told him she wanted him, too.

Klaus tightened his grip on her butt as he hoisted her against the railing of the bridge. He lowered his face to hers, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss that had them both panting and pulling at each other. When he pulled away, their eyes met for one moment.

But one moment was all it took. Bonnie tilted her head to the side and offered her lover the gentle curve of her neck. Klaus swallowed in anticipation. He glanced at the pitch of her pulse, traced his fingers lightly over her skin, and turned his eyes to her. "Are you sure?"

"I'm more sure of this than anything," Bonnie breathed.

Klaus's fangs extended. He leaned in to bite her and- was thrown across the bridge.

"Get the hell away from her!" An angry, black eyed, blonde-haired vampire growled at him. Caroline stood between him and Bonnie. Elena stood, wide eyed, at the other side of the bridge.

Bonnie blinked, adjusting to the changed perception, and saw Klaus standing to his feet. She ran past Caroline.

"Klaus!" she exclaimed, reaching over and helping him up. "Are you alright?"

"Sweetheart," Klaus teased, pecking her lips, "I'm a hybrid."

"Oh," Bonnie said, letting go, "Right."

"It was a lovely gesture," he said and she rolled her eyes at him, though the smile didn't leave her face.

"What the hell is going on here!" Caroline exclaimed, stamping her foot impatiently.

"You attacked me."

"_You _were attacking _her_!" Caroline screamed.

Klaus opened his mouth to say something, but then nodded his head as if in agreement.

"What?" Bonnie nudged him. "You were not attacking me."

"Define attack," Klaus said.

"You were going to devour her!" Caroline's voice got even more shrill.

"Define devour."

Bonnie blushed.

"Oh my God." Elena said, finally catching up to the group on her human legs. "What happened?"

"Caroline threw Klaus," Bonnie said, not hiding the hint of admiration in her voice for her young vampire friend. She was a tough one!

"No," Elena shook her head, glancing between the witch and the hybrid. "Between you two? You're... friends."

"Bit more than friends," Klaus said, resting his hand on Bonnie's hip possessively. Bonnie tried to put some space between them, but he held on.

"Alright," Bonnie said, patting Klaus' shoulder like he was a child throwing a tantrum. Though, could she blame him? Her insipid friends had ruined what was about to be a very promising day.

"Bonnie," Elena's brow furrowed. "We need to talk."

"We were coming to talk to you," Caroline amended. "About other stuff." She glanced at Klaus and didn't hide the displeasure on her face. "And now, also this..."

"I... have plans?" Bonnie said apologetically.

"This is important." Elena insisted.

_More important than making out with Klaus? Unlikely._

"It's alright, love," Klaus said, planting a kiss on Bonnie's forehead. "I have business to take care of as well." He spared a glance at her friends who shifted their weight awkwardly under his gaze. He smirked, they were nothing like the spitfire witch who he had lost his heart to.

"Until tonight then," she said, drawing his attention back to her. She nibbled her lip to keep the grin from spreading across her face. He clasped her hand and pulled it to his mouth, laying a tender kiss on the inside of her palm. Her teeth released her lip as she smiled up at him happily, and he couldn't repress the dimples that spread at seeing her joy.

"Until tonight."

**KB**

Klaus entered the mansion to find all of his brothers absent. Only Rebekah remained, sitting in the living room, staring at the chess set, her legs crossed and her hands set on her lap.

"Rebekah," he greeted cheerfully her as he entered. He took a seat opposite her on the couch, reclining backwards and crossing his feet at his ankles. "Where are the others?"

"They've all gone," Rebekah said, her voice measured as she turned her eyes on him. She crossed her arms and arched a brow. "Where's Bonnie?" She popped the first letter of the girl's name off her lips like it was a swear word.

"Safe," Klaus said with an undertone of warning. He leaned forward now, resting his elbows on his knees. "We need to talk."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Then talk."

"I'm leaving you the mansion."

"What?" Rebekah snapped to attention.

"I have a new home in town," Klaus explained. "I purchased it a few days ago, and I will be staying there from now on."

Well, _technically_, he was homeless, because _technically_, he had had the house purchased in Bonnie's name. He had wanted to gift her with a sanctuary, had wanted her to invite him in – he just hadn't expected it to happen so soon, and to end so well.

Rebekah's lips tightened. "So you're leaving me? Abandoning the only member of your family who stuck around? For a girl!"

"I am leaving the mansion to you," Klaus said carefully.

"When I wanted to leave," Rebekah took a deep breath, her eyes furious, "With Stefan, you wouldn't let me!"

"You may go to him now," Klaus offered weakly.

"I should dagger you," Rebekah scowled. "I should find a way to get back at you-"

"Every life after this one is yours to punish, Rebekah," Klaus interrupted his sister. "Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do. The reins are in your hands. But this lifetime – this _one_ lifetime with Bonnie – that's all I ask."

Rebekah stared at her brother. It was an empty promise, she realized. But the reason it was empty was enough for her temper to cool. Klaus would never be hers to punish. Because when Bonnie died, Klaus would die, too. He'd find a way to end it all. The way he was talking... he didn't intend on living a life beyond Bonnie's anyway.

"It's funny," Rebekah almost laughed, "How things come full circle."

"What do you mean?" Klaus frowned.

Yet again, their ends were intertwined. Her death was his, and his was hers. They owned each other's lives as they always had – as they always would – each time with a different slant.

It's like she held his beating heart in her hands.

"You _like _her," Rebekah teased. Klaus tried to repress a smile, tried to hide the dimples behind a casual hand at his face. He laughed, and Rebekah's heart almost wept at the sweetness of the sound – a sound she hadn't heard so loudly, so freely – in decades.

"You're giving me the mansion?"

"Yes," Klaus said simply.

"Elijah, Kol, Finn..." Rebekah raised a suspicious brow, "You're not going to check up on them?"

"No." Klaus said, "You can, if you'd like."

"It's like you're giving it all up for this one girl..." Rebekah pushed.

Klaus smirked, hearing his words repeated at him.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Rebekah teased her brother. "Not in a thousand years."

"In a thousand years, there has only been one Bonnie."

**KB**

"We wanted to see how you were doing," Caroline explained when they reached the Boarding House.

"I'm alright," Bonnie said, "Better than alright."

"Yeah, we saw that," Caroline teased, a bit of annoyance clear in her voice. "Way to keep me out of the loop."

"There's something else..." Elena said, shooting Caroline a worried look.

"Did something happen?" Bonnie's brows furrowed.

Caroline sighed. "Well, yeah. You and Klaus happened."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Elena said suddenly. "But now that you're with Klaus..."

"You can't tell me who to love," Bonnie said quietly but sternly. Her eyes met Elena's with determination. "I'd give up almost anything for you," she said, shaking her head at the memories, "But not this. Don't ask me to."

"It's not that," Elena amended quickly.

"Bonnie," Caroline jumped in, "You should sit down."

Bonnie spared a glance to each of her friends, her face contorting with worry. She sat down. "What's going on?"

Elena and Caroline exchanged a glance as they took seats on either side of her.

"It's Mikael," Elena said. "He's awake."

"_What_?" Bonnie's brows knitted together. She turned from one friend to the other, waiting for more information. "How do you know?"

"Katherine," Elena said. "When you were with Klaus, Katherine was looking for Mikael. She heard that he could kill him."

"No," Bonnie shook her head. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be her reality. Warm breath. Lazy smile. Eyes like the sky. Arms that formed her fortress. She closed her eyes for a long, slow moment even as she felt them start to sting and well over with tears.

"I never bothered to tell you," Elena continued, "because she couldn't find him. I thought she had given up. No locator spell could find him. No one who had known him could track him..."

"It's part of the spell," Bonnie said, opening her eyes slowly. Her friends blurred and cleared as two thick tears fell in unison down her cheeks. Bonnie could still see him now – towering over Klaus, glowering, shaking with rage – raising his fist-

"And then things got crazy fast with Esther," Caroline offered. "And no one bothered to even think of Mikael."

"How does Katherine know?"

"He found her," Elena said, "He knew she was the last doppelganger."

"He knows about you," Bonnie said, eyes flashing to her friend. "Abby did the spell because he knew about you, and she wanted to protect you."

"That means he's coming here next," Caroline said resolutely. "For Elena."

"For Klaus," Bonnie said.

"Either way, he's coming here, and I thought you should know." Elena said. "Now you can protect him."

In the moment between Elena's words sinking in and her friends sharing a concerned look, Bonnie had an epiphany that made her heart sink even further.

Katherine would tell Mikael Klaus was in Mystic Falls. Mikael would come to Mystic Falls to kill Klaus. Klaus could not be in Mystic Falls. Elena could not have any information he could torture out of her, or compel. Though, knowing the Salvatores, it would never get that far...

Which meant, _this was the last time she would be sitting here opposite her friends._

Bonnie was running away with Klaus.

"This _should_ be good news," Damon's voice interrupted her thoughts as he strode into the room in good repair, making no secret of the fact that he had been listening in.

Bonnie shot him a glare. "Well, it's not."

"That's because _someone_ decided to play house with Klaus," Damon's eyes narrowed on her, as if no one would otherwise know who he meant.

"I'm not _playing_ anything," Bonnie said sternly, rising from her seat. "I love him."

Damon rolled his eyes. Caroline blinked at her friend and offered a confused smile. Elena's brow furrowed.

"Bonnie..."

"I can't protect you, Elena," Bonnie said with some regret. "I can't lay my life down for you anymore."

"It won't come to that—"

"I don't say this because anything has changed between us," Bonnie clarified. "You – both of you – are still my sisters. I love both of you." She waited as their bodies relaxed at her words. "But I can't..." Bonnie bit back the tears that made her throat feel thick, and her voice shrill. "I can't exist in a world without him." Her eyes went from one girl to the other, desperate for some kind of understanding. "If Mikael gets him... I might as well be dead."

"Don't say that," Elena said softly. As she looked at Bonnie, she recognized the lost, conflicted look in her eyes. It was the same look Elena saw in the mirror every day after Klaus kidnapped Stefan. It was the same look that haunted her now that he was back. She loved him. Which meant only one thing: "I won't let it come to that."

"Anything you need," Caroline said, her sweet voice set and determined. "You know we've got you."

Bonnie offered her friends a watery smile as they rose to wrap her in hugs. Bonnie accepted them, pulling their bodies tightly against her own. As if it was the last time she would feel them so close.

Because she knew what it meant for them to help her. Klaus had done wrong to both of them – he had tortured Stefan, turned him back into a Ripper for his own sick amusement. He had murdered Tyler – turned him into a hybrid with no regard for the young boy's own life. The men that Caroline and Elena loved – they had been beneath Klaus' true concern for so long.

The fact that her friends were still, despite this, willing to step up and protect him - as a way of protecting her – touched Bonnie deeply.

_Your happiness is answer enough_, Klaus had said. And he was right. All of her sacrifices, her sleepless nights spent studying grimoires, the ways her morals bent to breaking point – the nosebleeds, the near-death experiences – the corpses and the kidnappings... it was like they all added up to this one, strange moment where the women she did everything for – the women she was willing to die for – made it clear that they were ready to do the same for her.

Bonnie couldn't be blamed for crying.

"Well isn't this touching," Damon snarled from his corner, looking like a mopey brat. "Like he didn't just spend yesterday _torturing_ me."

"Sometimes we do nice things for assholes," Bonnie levelled a glare his way, her pointed meaning lost to no one in the room.

Damon frowned, keeping eye contact as he took a long swig of his drink and snarled: "Touche."

**KB**

When Klaus met Bonnie outside the Boarding House, it was raining.

"Hello, sweetheart," he said, extending the umbrella so she could walk underneath it. She took it from his hand and closed it. The rain hit her face, her hair. Probably not the best idea – it would definitely be a frizzy mess in the morning – but she didn't care. She needed this: the earth, the rain, the hybrid. She needed their strength to feel strong; she needed to be crowded by them all.

"A walk in the rain?" Klaus said, wrapping her hand in his. He bent his arm, pulled her hand up to his lips. "Sounds lovely."

Bonnie smiled up at him. The rain hit his face, drizzled in rivulets over the angles of his cheeks and the lines of his chin. "Lovely it is," she agreed.

They strolled back to the house in the rain. Bonnie looked like a drenched kitten, and Klaus had to continuously roll his sleeves up as they were tugged down by the weight of water. Their hands swung between them, and as they walked, they pointed out all the bits of Mystic Falls that they loved. They had known the same corner of the Earth so many centuries apart that, when they agreed on their feelings about a certain place, it was oddly comforting. To know some things never change.

When they reached Grams' house, Bonnie was shivering from the cold. Her skin was cool when Klaus took her face in his hand, but her mouth was warm and soft when he took it with his.

Klaus' kiss was too good to let go of. Bonnie clung to him – his mouth, his arms, his embrace – as long as she could on that porch. Behind her, the door opened and they slowly made their way inside. Barely pausing to take breaths, she began to peel the layers off of him.

**KB***

_First the sweater_ – move away to tug it over his head – giggle at how cute he looks getting caught in the sleeves.

He attacks her lips, pressing his wet chest against hers before tugging her sweater off as well. She shivers at the sensation of the air against her damp skin. She stands before him in a cotton bra, and remarks how unfair it is, before slowly unbuttoning his dress shirt. She tugs it completely free of his jeans and lays small, teasing pecks on every inch of skin the open buttons expose. When his shirt is open, she takes a step back and admires him. Every angle and shadow and muscle. She leans forward to bite his hip bones, and he sucks in a delicious breath. She works her way across the waist band of his jeans to a faint trail of hair. She follows it up to his navel where she catches a rain drop on her tongue. By the time she's at his clavicle, his neck, his shoulder, she is off of her toes and being held up by his strong arms – spurred on by his heady words and thick voice.

Klaus hates wet jeans. His plop to the floor in an easy motion with a sound that makes Bonnie laugh. She angles her hips against him, and he digs his fingers into her flesh. It's _unfair_ he says, tugging at the waistband of her pants. They're tight and form fitting, and cling to every luscious curve. They're greedy, wanting to engulf her and keep her from him. He gets fed up and tears the seams. Bonnie scolds him as she steps out of them and out of her wet boots, but his open mouth on her neck and his hand on the small of her back pulling her flush against him, has her anger sounding more like pleas.

They don't bother with a bedroom now. They're both too desperate. Their fingers dig into each other, leg grazes leg and they are entangled. Which corner of skin is hers and which is his, he doesn't know. He slides his hands into her panties to find her a hot contrast to the rest of her cool, rain-kissed skin. She nips at his neck and presses down. _Told you I'd bite you_, she says, but his eyes are already flashing yellow. At the possessiveness of the gesture – oh, to be possessed, to be craved like he craves. Then Bonnie's moaning beneath him, and he realizes his hand didn't stop moving. She's falling apart beneath him, over him, all around him.

He slips inside her when the last moan escapes her throat, and the crescendo begins again. It's an orchestra in the living room. The wind kicks up outside, and they can hear the trees scraping against the glass. It's all they hear besides their own voices: the _yes_, and the _Klaus_, and the _Bonnie_ and the sweet, sweet words that neither would remember in the morning.

_You're so... beautiful,_ one of them says.

_You're_... _everything_, the other replies.

When Bonnie closes her eyes, it happens. One second, the hardwood floor is doing a number on her back (though Klaus tries to shield her by wrapping his arm around her and holding her up). The next, they are floating.

Bonnie notices first. They're levitating. They're – Klaus is – heading straight for the wall. He doesn't realize until the friction slows – there's less resistance. His glazed eyes look at her questioningly and she starts laughing. She can't help it. The sounds are spilling from her mouth even as she wraps her legs around him – to keep him in place, with her. When his head hits the wall, he is grinning at her.

_Never done this before_, Klaus says as he gazes past her to the floor below. He holds her close to him, calculating in his mind how much speed – how much presence of mind – he would need should things go wrong and they fall. How fast could he turn them around? How fast could he break her fall?

When Bonnie smiles wickedly at him and flattens her legs on either side of the ceiling, her curly hair hanging below them, Klaus thinks, _I'll protect her_.

She moves against him and it's almost over too soon. She is needy this evening – clinging to him, running her teeth and tongue against his skin. This isn't about being loved anymore for her – this is more than that. This is a decision. This is a life. She's chosen him, over everything else, and she is happy. But she needs to feel him: needs to taste him, to hear him call her name. To know, he won't leave her. He's real. He's alive.

Bonnie cries his name when she orgasms and they float lazily back down to the ground. Klaus holds back until he knows she is safe and sound and grounded. They both are. He moves against her and is falling apart as quickly as it started. He traces a fang against her content, glowing neck. He scrapes the skin, and she lets him get a lap in, before she turns on her side, tucks into him and slips into sleep. He throws an arm around her, and they fall into an easy, peaceful sleep as his lulled by the strong beating of her heart.

_One lifetime_.

**KB**

When Klaus woke, the moon was high and he was alone. He stood quickly, tugging his jeans on, before following the sound of the witch's frantic heart to their room. _Their room._

He frowned, running a hand through his hair sleepily when he saw her, fully dressed, throwing the clothes back into the suitcases.

"What's going on?" Klaus woke immediately. A familiar sensation of being watched, being stalked, made the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

Bonnie's eyes shot up as Klaus walked into the room. "I couldn't sleep."

"Liar."

Bonnie frowned. Sometimes, it sucked that he could hear her heart... "We're leaving Mystic Falls."

Klaus' brow furrowed. Something was wrong. "Why?"

Bonnie dropped her arms dejectedly. "I was going to tell you anyway," she gnawed on her bottom lip, "in the morning."

"Tell me now."

"Klaus..."

He was in front of her in seconds, staring down at her, his eyes flashing yellow and focused, his jaw set and determined. He looked nothing like the boy she made love to hours before, and everything like the senseless killer she had known so well. "Tell me _now_."

"It's Mikael," Bonnie says, setting her jaw as well. "He's awake."

A pause. Klaus turns away from her, examines the suitcase with disinterest.

"I'm packing our stuff," Bonnie explained, turning back to the task at hand. "We can leave in the morning."

"It's no use," Klaus said, his face resigned and bitter. "He will find me, he _always_ finds me."

"So what are we going to do?" Bonnie cried, throwing her hands in the air. Why was he just... standing there? Why wasn't he freaking out? Sure, maybe he'd done this a dozen times before, but _she_ hadn't.

"I'm going to go," Klaus said.

"Okay, great," Bonnie said, nodding along. She resumed packing. "Where should we go?"

"No," Klaus said, putting his hand over hers as she picked up her stack of shirts. "_I_ am going to go. You are going to stay here."

"No," Bonnie said, withdrawing her hand from his as if he had burned her. She searched his eyes for some understanding, some semblance of hope could hold on to – but he averted his eyes. "I'm going with you," she said, and hated how her voice sounded so... persuasive. So pleading.

"Bonnie," Klaus reached out to stroke her hair. He ran his fingers through the soft, curly strands, paused to cup her cheek. He let his eyes dance and linger on the angles of her face, as if he was trying to memorize it for the rest of his lonely existence. "If you come with me, you will be in danger."

"Danger I can handle," Bonnie said hurriedly.

"He will not hesitate to kill anyone by my side."

"I'm not afraid of death," Bonnie said. "There are things worse than death."

"That you know that," Klaus said softly, letting his hand drop from her face. He balled it into a fist and shoved it into his pocket, as if he could capture her warmth. "Saddens me."

"If I stay in Mystic Falls and he comes," Bonnie tried to reason slowly, "he will hurt me anyway. For loving you."

"You will forget me."

"I could never-"

"No," Klaus said, "You will forget me."

Bonnie gasped as she realized his meaning. "You're going to compel me to forget you?"

Klaus winced at the loudness of her voice, the hardness of her eyes. "It's for the best-"

"Why can't I just come with you?" Bonnie yelled. Her voice broke, and she could feel the tears welling up in her throat. "We can hide _together_. I can protect you!"

"He can find me," Klaus yelled back. He placed his hands on either side of her shoulders and shook her as if she wasn't getting it. "He can _trace me_. He has his ways: special spells, even! He will always know where I am. He doesn't need a stupid doppelganger to find me." He paused. "Or a witch."

"What are you saying?" Bonnie's brows knitted together. She reached out and fisted her hands in his Henley. "You're just going to run? Forever?"

"Not forever..." Klaus said, but from the expression on his face, Bonnie knew what he was thinking.

"But longer than I'll live," Bonnie said. When he didn't say anything, she dug her fingers into him. As if she could anchor him to her. "You're leaving me."

"Bonnie," Klaus said, his own voice breaking now. "I can't protect you if I stay."

"I can protect you," Bonnie said, stepping into the circle of his arms. "We'll find a way to break the connection so he can't trace you. Then I'll go away _with you_."

"Bonnie..."

"Or do you not want that?" Bonnie withdrew. "Do you not want us to be together?"

Klaus pulled her sharply against him in response. He lowered his face to hers and pressed a chaste kiss on her pout. Her lips parted and he spoke against them, as if he could feed her his truth: "You are the only thing I have ever feared losing."

"And now you think you have to?"

"The only thing worse than losing you," Klaus said quietly, "Is being your downfall."

Bonnie blinked up at him, green eyes scanning blue. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers again – not a passionate kiss, but a simple gesture to reassure her that he was there. That he cared.

"If there was a way..." Bonnie hesitated. "If I could break the connection and keep you hidden, would you stay with me?"

"It can't be broken..."

"There's a way," Bonnie said.

Klaus frowned. "What is it?"

"You'd have to really trust me..."

"You know I do."

Bonnie let out a heavy breath. "With your life?"

"You are my life."

Bonnie offered him a watery smile.

"Klaus," she said, resting her hand above his heart. "I'm going to dessicate you."


	21. The Enemy

**AN: Apologies for the late update. It took awhile for me to figure out how to structure this and where to pick up. Thank you for your reviews, favorites, follows and, as always, your patience. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

_**The Enemy**_

Bonnie walked through the front door with her hands full, nudging it closed with her foot and using magic to slide her collection of locks in place. She balanced textbooks in one hand against her hip like she was carrying an infant, a giant coffee cup in the other, and a heavy laptop bag on one shoulder. Her car keys were looped around one finger and she dropped them with precision on the small table in the foyer without looking.

Sliding her flats off, she made her way upstairs to their room – the only room that she hadn't change since she cast the spell so many, many nights before. The furniture Klaus had bought them was still there, though the suitcases had long been unpacked and the clothes hung in his-and-her closets. Dropping her purse unceremoniously at the foot of her bed, Bonnie stacked her textbooks on the small writing desk in the corner and cradled her coffee in her hands as she took a seat on at the foot of her bed, facing out towards the bay window.

As she had every evening for the past three years, Bonnie took a long, slow sip of her coffee and, to the figure lying underneath the bay window in a black coffin, she smiled and said: "Hello, love."

If she didn't love him, she wouldn't be able to look at him. His skin had dried up – shriveled over the years. He was smaller, so much smaller, than he really was. He was still there, deep down, locked inside his own body. She felt him, strongly, even now. Sitting here with him as she studied, as she ranted about her day, as she perused spells in her grimoire – heck, as she day-dreamed about the day he woke – made her feel less alone. _They were a team_, she reminded herself. They were a team, and Klaus wouldn't abandon her. No matter how empty his body looked, she knew he was in there, waiting for her to wake him.

"Professor Shane is on my case again," Bonnie muttered, running her fingers lightly through Klaus' hair. Her nails scratched against his scalp, but he made no movement. "We were trying that spell I told you about?" The image of him feigning sleep and smiling flickered through her head, and she let her finger fall to trace the edges of his face. "The paralysis spell. A few weeks ago, I tried it on Damon, and I had him pinned for a good two minutes before I couldn't anymore... Today, I barely got to thirty seconds before the nose bleeds started. And he's not half as strong as Mikael is..." She raised her hand to tap at her nose out of habit. She felt like a coke addict some days, always worried about when her magic would betray her. She took another long sip of the coffee. "It's fading, you know? My strength. My magic." She smirked, licking foam from her lips, "I guess I need you more than I let on."

_But you can't wake him_, a warning voice rose in her head. Because the second she did, Mikael would know where he was. _You can't wake him until you can protect him._

Bonnie let out a long sigh as she came to kneel before the coffin, resting her cheek against the cold wood. She let her arm rest, dangling her hand over the edge and drawing lazy circles against Klaus' palm. She watched him as if he would stir any moment – as if he would or could wake without her, and she might not be there when he did. She watched him with a yearning that had knotted her chest up for so long, that she didn't remember what it felt like to not be yearning – to not be longing for his return.

"This is what it felt like, huh?" Bonnie whispered with affection and a soft smile. "To wait for me?"

No response.

"Yeah, I know," Bonnie said as if in reply. "I've got a thousand years to catch you up."

**KB**

In his dreams, Bonnie was vibrant.

At first, their moments together played on repeat, pausing to stop and zoom in on certain moments – certain details that only a supernatural being could pick up on. Like, the way the skirts of her dress rustled together at the ball. Or the exact rhythm of her fluttering lashes when she was nervous. The shade of pink her lip turned when she bit it.

For the first few months, his eyes could open at will: he could watch as she came and went about her day. She always spoke to him – had perhaps grown accustomed to speaking to herself in her loneliness, anyway, she was so good at it. But after a while, even the eyes grew tired and Klaus found himself falling into the ever-wake darkness. And her voice became a comforting hum he couldn't decipher.

That's when the sensations started: he could feel the curls of her hair as if he was still cradling her head in his hands. He could hear her heart beat pounding – in fear, in defiance, in love – somewhere in the distance, always out of reach. His neck burned where he thought her lips fell. Her weight: certain and filling in his arms. He felt sunshine where no light existed.

His mind was playing tricks on him. He fought it at first: told himself, that this was not a pause between bouts of endless lovemaking under the full moon. He forced himself to accept the truth: that this was a long, solitary confinement – a dark tunnel that he had to trudge through until he got to her on the other side. She wasn't with him, not really.

But the truth could only keep the temptation of hallucination at bay for so long.

The images stuck and repeated. The sound of her laughter – happy and carefree – repeated over and over and over again. Until he thought, perhaps, she laughed at him.

One moment, he was waking up in bed with her, his eyes closed despite the wide grin on his face as she spoke to him. But her words were not the familiar, sweet words she had once said. They were said softly, and they were said sensually – but they were words meant to hurt him. Break him. _I will kill you_, she said in his mind between heated kisses. _I am going to desiccate you_, she said as they made love against the ceiling. As he spun her around on the dance floor at the ball, her dress impossibly red and darkening by the second, she looked at him and said between thick lashes: _we're dead. We're already dead_.

He trudged through the trenches again. Blood and death and mud everywhere. Trenchfoot. Rotting flesh. Wounds running blood black as oil. The never-ending rain! With a gun in hand, no one knew what the real weapon was. The sick fascination he would feel for Stefan in a few short years was a hovering ghost: how the Salvatore gloried in the torture, in the killing and mutilation. Klaus could not bring his eyes to see the worst of it. He shot a man. He shot another. He ran through the fields, clashing with body after body – all nameless, faceless beasts in an endless war. One fell to the ground and grabbed at his ankles, but he bashed his head in with the butt of his gun. Klaus kicked his helmet off to get one good, final blow and paused when the lifeless eyes were green. The bloodied forehead was pale, brown skin. The broken doll was Bonnie.

Then he was back in India. Saris were hung to dry in the rural town after Kol's outburst: scrubbed clean of blood. Bodies were buried. The entire town compelled. Cholera. Beasts. Malaria. Plague. Anything, but not the white, foreign family. He watched as they prepared the bodies for cremation. One fell from the pile. A white shroud: so white and perfect, crisp and clean. Even from his vantage point far away, he felt tempted to reach out to her. The cloth fell from her face. Green eyes. Wide mouth. Still breathing. Heart, still beating. Bonnie. He rushed to her without thinking: but it was too late, the fire was lit. She choked on the smoke before the fire got her.

Emily. At the stake. He remembered, he heard of it. He was chasing Katerina – Emily be damned. Her flesh smelled like Bonnie's flesh. He walked away from her as she gritted her teeth and refused to call for help. He turned his back, something was calling, _begging_ him to take one last look. And Emily was Bonnie, and she was looking at him – looking through him – like she didn't know him at all.

Mikael. Hunting him. This time, through a swap. A forest. Somewhere dark, where his legs sunk into something thick and sticky. The rain beat down on him like lashes. His skin stung where it was hit. Mikael was hunting him. Getting closer. He could feel it. He yelled at Rebekah to _save yourself, it's me he wants!_ She ran. He struggled. Mikael caught up to him. Wielded a shiny, white stake and through his heart it went. But Mikael wasn't Mikael. She wore Mikael's body, but it had to be Bonnie. It had to be Bonnie. Bonnie was killing him.

He tried to smother her in her sleep. They were in the house, in one of his memories, a few nights before she would trap him and chain him up. He tried to kill her, had planned to stop this from happening: maybe the other life was a dream. Because Klaus couldn't love or be loved. _This was real_. He held the pillow to her face. She turned in her sleep, right into his arms, her warm breath on his face.

_Klaus_, her soft, sleepy voice said. _I've been waiting_. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled in closer. The pillow fell from his hands.

They have sex often, in the most random of places. When he remembered, for a brief moment, who he was – and who he was with – and how desperate he was to be with her again – _she was not the enemy _– he ravished her.

_When I take you, I want all of your friends to know I took you._

In the Grille, he bent her over the pool table and wriggled her jeans down over her hips so he could pleasure her as he pretended to help her sink the eight. In his bedroom, he let her flip him over and ride him until she collapsed, sweaty and satiated. As she undid the linking spell, he lay kisses to her neck and undressed her. He took her from behind, collecting her hair in one hand and her breast in the other. He was slow but purposeful, until she was chanting the spell in breathless moans. On the ballroom floor, as the rest of the party danced around them, like it was nothing. He ripped the slit of her red dress higher, held her wrists above her head, and thrust into her like they were dancing. He sunk his teeth into her neck, and she came as the song changed.

Then the world rewound and they did it again.

He is mad, he thinks. He will not be fit to be around her when – _if_ – she wakes him.

And then, on the days he had the power to direct his thoughts, he imagined it: the day he sees her again.

**KB***

One day (if you could call them that, as they stretched interminably one into the other and his consciousness was starting to come and go), he found himself with long hair and a beating heart, standing on the spot where Wickery Bridge would one day be built – now, it was a simple clearing with soft earth that tiny brook ran through.

"Klaus," his first love called his name. He turned to see her: dressed in a long blue dress, her hair pin-straight and floating in the wind. Her brown eyes squinted up at him, her face pulled in pointed concern as she approached.

"Tatia," Klaus acknowledged her, closing his eyes in frustration. "You seek Elijah?"

"No," Tatia's voice came again, her hand falling against his collarbone.

_This I know_, he thought idly as the memory played out before him. _First kiss_.

He closed his eyes, waiting for what he recalled: Tatia leaning up and capturing his lips in her own, pulling away with that gleam in her eyes that he would mistake for love...

"Klaus," she said again, testily. He forced himself to pull back, to open his eyes. And brown eyes became green, pale skin brown and rich, and lank brown hair a riot of black waves. Her lips were full and pink and so close.

"Bonnie," he said, finding his mouth suddenly dry.

"What do you want, _Klaus?_" She must have meant to spit his name out, like something distasteful. But it sounded like a moan – like a plea. She closed her eyes and her mouth grew slack. And she said it again. His chest tightened as his memories merged.

"You will find out soon enough," he whispered the words without thinking. He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. She blinked at him, stunned, and he couldn't help the amused smirk that danced on his lips a second before he kissed her. Hard and thorough, with teeth and tongue as she gasped and he pulled her tightly against his body, locking her with his arms.

He wanted to be wrapped up in her: her legs on either side of him, her stomach against his. He wanted her to move languidly, slowly, like a tide over him. He wanted to drown in her, to wrap his arms around her and guide her sinuous movements. He wanted to bury his face in her chest, close his eyes, and be overwhelmed by the pounding of her heart. If she ran her nails through his hair or squeezed him between her thighs, all the better. If she called his name, or leaned forward to capture some part of him in her mouth – a wonder. But he would be satisfied with the simple, consuming pleasure of being lost in her sharp, feminine breaths and her glorious weight – the softness of her skin, the warmth of her flushed cheeks. If he could see her everywhere, and be wrapped up in her like he was so wrapped up in the cold, dry, decaying darkness, it might all be worth it.

His hands tugged and pulled at her dress, revealing her gorgeous, smooth, hot skin. He ran his palms against it like he was starving for that touch. He pulled at the seams until they were torn, and fabric was falling everywhere. His hands fell to her hips and he started gathering the fabric in his fingers as he kissed her. Before he could reach out, she was jerking her hips towards his hand and he let out a trembling sigh of her name as his fingers found her wet and warm. She ground herself against him, still pulling at his lips with her own, and he withdrew. He spun her around, pulling her flush against him again before they both fell gracelessly to their knees on the ground.

Without wasting a second, he pulled her up against him, pinning her with fingers that he returned to where she wanted them the most. She moaned his name, pulling at his hair and riding his palm as he fumbled with the waistband of his pants.

He slid into her slowly. The pleasure was overwhelming – the kind of punch to the stomach that would knock a grown man off of his feet – and it was just beginning. She was clawing at him with her nails, pulling him closer, urging him on with wordless mutters. She arched her back against him, tried to lower herself on to him, but he grabbed her breast in one hand and her lovely ass with the other, and controlled her eager movements.

"Bonnie," he grunted against her neck as he licked a bead of sweat from her. He found her clitoris and applied that simple, dizzying pressure he knew she loved. She was calling his name like a plea now – no, like a chant, because it was enchanting his wolf and turning his blue eyes amber.

He thrust into her, without rhythm or purpose. He almost collapsed from the pleasure of it all. He almost bent over and said, _you win_, and surrendered to the call of her luscious body.

But then the world changed.

"Klaus," Bonnie cried, and with her orgasm came the darkness. They were no longer a sweaty mess of love making under the Mystic Falls sun. They were in their bedroom in their house, their home. An empty, open coffin lay on one side of the room, half broken. A few drops of blood stained her white sheets.

He took her exactly as he said he wanted to – from behind, up against the headboard. The only thing missing was the mirror, but that didn't matter anyway because Bonnie's eyes were crossing from her second orgasm, and he wasn't letting her calm down before delivering a third with vicious precision.

Bonnie mumbled incoherent pleas as he thrust into her. She was full of him in every sense of the word: he had come back to life before her eyes – he was strong, and sultry, and seductive. His lips were as soft and warm and demanding she remembered. She shuddered and shook against him and wondered, how she had survived, without this?

They were panting in the darkness, and he could no longer feel his human heart pounding against his human chest. Bonnie arched her back as she writhed against him, twisting to lay a smacking kiss against his lips.

And he felt it then: her tightness, her slickness, the heat of her body – all of it, more intense, more consuming. Her flesh was thicker, her voice louder in his ears. She felt, almost, _real..._

He shook his head, trying to blink the wolf from his eyes, and became distracted by the erratic thumping of her heart.

"Yes, Klaus," she said as he slowed his pace but hardened his thrusts.

It pounded in the base of her neck. _So close_. He licked his lips, and found her blood was already there. Her arm was thrown up over his neck and he turned his head toward the scent, finding a smattering of blood against her wrist. Her flesh flashed pink in the darkness, and blood continued to leak out in time with her pounding heart.

"Oh, God..." she moaned as she felt herself reaching that peak again. Time was moving too fast. Or was it moving too slow? He wasn't sure, but every convulsion of her muscles pushed him further and further to madness.

_No other man will do this for her_, he heard himself vow, _no one else can you please you like this._

Klaus tore into his own wrist – some strange vestige of humanity, perhaps, acting on instincts he'd long thought he'd forgotten – and shoved it into her eager mouth. She sucked at his hand like she was kissing him, her soft lips moving hungrily against his skin and sending precious tingles through his body.

When he was certain her would was knitting closed, he thrust himself fully into her, trapping her happily against the bed frame and his body, and sank his teeth into her neck.

**KB**

She had been making a cup of tea when it happened. She felt her magic break, and snap back at her like a vicious rubberband.

_It happened_, she had thought. This was it. The moment her magic wasn't strong enough to keep Klaus desiccated – to keep him under, and to keep him safe. She didn't have the magic to sustain the desiccation spell, and now... he was waking up.

She had headed back upstairs in such a hurry she broke the tea cup and didn't feel the boiling water splash against her toes. She kneeled before the coffin, running her hands over his face.

"Klaus," she had said, a bit more excited than she should feel._ This was bad_, she told herself. Mikael would find them. But her heart was thumping a different logic altogether. _This was good_, it said. This was Klaus coming back to her.

But he didn't move. He didn't stir. She thought, perhaps, she had been wrong. Or, worse, she panicked – she had lost her magic and lost her Klaus. Maybe not having magic meant he was stuck like this – forever?

She ran her hands over his lips, shaking her head, hating the sound of the ticking clock. "Wake up," she had sobbed, angry at the desperation in her voice – frustrated with the empty, magic-less feeling of her hands and heart. "Wake up, damn you!"

And that's when she felt it – his fangs descended and dragged lazily across the flesh of her fingers.

"Here!" Bonnie had cried out, pulling her sleeve up to her elbow and shoving her wrist against his lips. "Here, drink," she had said, sniffling and forcing herself to sound soothing: "Please, I want you to. Please..."

And, after a moment, he had.

But the Klaus that woke was not the Klaus that she had put to sleep with tender, gentle love in his eyes. With hope and a sweet kiss to her palm, and a promise of happily ever after.

This Klaus was hungry, and when he was through with the blood, he came for her.

And she welcomed him.

"Klaus..." Bonnie said breathlessly through post-coital kisses. He had flipped her over after their lovemaking and was scattering sucking, hungry kisses all over her body, pausing to lick her folds before going to the back of her knee, her elbow, the patch of skin on her neck where her blood was drying, and then back to below her navel again.

He looked up at her, and his eyes were black and veiny. And confused.

Her voice barely reached him. She tried again, more sternly this time, until the yellow rim of his dark, black eyes began to waver. "Klaus, it's me. It's Bonnie."

He grunted a response and lay a deliberate lick to her left nipple. Why was she distracting him when he had so much more to cuddle, to caress, to kiss? She had filled out somehow – she had hips, and thighs, and breasts. She was soft all over, and just begging to be loved – to let him drown himself in the heaven of her embrace.

"Stop!" Bonnie cried, pushing him off him until their eyes met. He didn't get it. He wasn't with her. He _was _her, waking up with cloudy eyes from a lifetime of dreams.

Bonnie took his face in her hands, and furrowed her brow. Frowned. Forced him to look at her.

Klaus paused at the unfamiliar movements. He watched her lips move. He forced himself to ignore the pounding of her heart, the rise and fall of her breasts, the way the sweaty sheen of her temple made the air taste the tiniest bit saltier. He ignored it all and focused. She spoke. He heard her. And then he shook her and said, _again_, as if he couldn't trust his ears.

"Klaus, it's alright," Bonnie repeated calmly, reaching out to run a hand through his blonde locks. She let her palm fall to cradle his face. "You're awake now. You're awake."


	22. A Whole New World

**AN: Hello, everyone! Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows! Sorry for the wait, hope it was worth it.**

_**A Whole New World**_

Klaus' eyes were black and eerie as he stared at Bonnie in the shower. She thought she had locked the door, but she must have forgotten that nothing as flimsy as a door could keep him away from what he wanted. He crouched near the entrance, watching the hot water sluice over her body, like a predator waiting to pounce. Like a wolf.

Bonnie wasn't the young girl he had left behind. She was curvier: there was flesh for grabbing and biting on her thighs and hips and breasts. Her limbs were rounder but still defined as they had been from cheerleading. Her face held the same patience, her eyes the same precise intelligence, and her tongue the same wit as when he had left. Though, when she spoke, he often heard echoes of memories that could not be what she actually said – _I will kill you_, instead of _I love you_ – he trusted his instincts when he heard how her fragile heart sped with the mere brush of his hand against hers. He took her pulse when she curled up next to him just to be sure his sentiments about their reunion were returned.

But then there were moments, like this one, when the suspicion hit him. And the hunger hit him. He had been starving for three years – it was no wonder he would want to tap the nearest vein to quench that clawing craving. He had been alone for three years – it was no wonder the wolf needed to be touched and petted and feel the loyalty of pack. He had been without her for three years... could she blame him for needing to lose himself in her? To become so lost in the smell and taste and warmth of her that he forgot ever being without her at all?

_I will kill you_. Her words still echoed in his head. He remembered chasing the doppelganger in Europe, spinning her around, and finding Bonnie's face. He remembered seeing her body burnt and blown to bits before him – as she reached for him – on the battlefield. He remembered her through lives that were too long and ancient to be his own – they felt like past lives, like memories. But he remembered her there, and it was so hard for him now – _so hard_ – to know what was real and what was just a dream.

Because this goddess stepping out of the shower, glistening, reaching for a white towel, turning to him with a mischievous smile – this couldn't be real.

She walked towards him with concern in her eyes.

Her lips moved, but her voice was a faint, undecipherable echo.

Her brow twisted as she got closer and she kneeled down to touch him. She cradled his face in her palm. His lips so close to her pulse. He felt his fangs itching.

She shook her head.

She spoke again.

"Are you alright?" she said.

His jaw se and ticked.

She asked again.

_A dream_.

He attacked, and her scream was not muffled or faint, and the ever encroaching darkness was now bright blood red.

And delicious.

**KB**

In her white robe, Bonnie poured two cups of coffee. Her neck was bandaged and her wounds were knitting closed after a distraught Klaus force-fed her his blood. He had mumbled words in a language she didn't understand when she opened her eyes. He had held her to her tightly, whispering against her skin what she could only assume were prayers and thank yous. Thank who? She didn't know. But his gratitude – and when he pulled back and his eyes met hers, his regret – was understood without language.

"It's alright," she had told him. It wasn't the first time in the past week he had feed from her, though the attacks were becoming shorter and less frequent. He needed the blood, she knew. Every bit he took brought him closer to sanity, to reality. But how much was enough? And what would stop him from attacking her in public?

And what would stop him from killing her?

"I'm... sorry," he said at last from his seat at the kitchen table where he cradled his head in his hands. He looked up at her, and she was startled to see the yellow eyes. She brought two cups of coffee to the table and, as she handed him his, he took her hand in his own. He drew it to his lips and spoke into her pulse, as if her heart could absorb his words that way – "I would never..."

"I know," Bonnie said, offering him a reassuring smile as his voice broke and he averted his eyes. "It was an accident."

"Did I..." he took a steadying breath as she took a sip of her coffee, "Hurt you?"

"No," she said quickly. And he hadn't. She feared the monster – had always feared the tearing of her flesh – and the pain that had come the first time a vampire bit her. But with Klaus, no matter how contorted his face got, or where his fangs aimed – the bite was gentle, the suckling almost tender.

"You wouldn't hurt me," Bonnie said, and her voice was so full of conviction that he had to believe her.

"Come," Klaus said, leaning back in his chair. Bonnie smirked at the sudden commanding tone of his voice, and did as he asked. She moved to sit on his lap, and he engulfed her small frame in an overwhelming, warm hug. His arms wrapped around her and he nuzzled his face against her neck. He closed his eyes and inhaled her. He kissed her ear. "I love you."

Bonnie smiled and leaned into the embrace. "I love you too," she said.

"Before today, it had been two days since the last incident," Klaus said.

"I know," Bonnie said, bracing herself for the argument she knew was coming.

"Perhaps it is safe to allow me to leave the house now," he said softly, nipping at her collarbone lightly. His hand trailed the length of her body, pausing to squeeze her hip and cup her inner thigh. She shivered against him as he let his hand slip under her robe.

"Klaus..." Bonnie said in broken warning as his thumb traced lazy circles against her skin.

"Yes?" He grinned into her ear as she set her coffee mug on the table. He didn't think she realized how her fingers flexed into his denim-clad legs as his thumb swooped higher.

Her voice steady and snippy: "You can't seduce me into having your way."

She turned to offer him a smirk. He growled and let his hand fall off of her.

"You cannot keep me trapped here," Klaus pointed out. "I can leave anytime-"

"I trust you to stay." Bonnie said simply and Klaus rolled his eyes as if he was losing patience.

"You should be more careful who you trust, love."

Turning sideways on his lap, she placed a sweet, lingering kiss on his lips: "I am careful."

"You worry that I will go after Elena or Rebekah, but I won't." Klaus said testily.

Bonnie had been filling him in on the changes in Mystic Falls slowly. Every day, she answered three questions from him in the morning, and three questions in the evening. During the day, she continued with her life as usual – in case someone was watching. She had told no one of Klaus' location, though everyone knew of her mission to protect them all from Mikael by killing him.

"And that arose no suspicions? Your friends are either very stupid," Klaus had said, "or think very highly of themselves."

"There are other reasons for wanting Mikael dead," Bonnie had reminded him.

It wasn't until two days later that she told Klaus what those reasons were.

"Elena is a vampire," she had admitted, interrupting their pillow talks as they lay naked in bed and her lover spoke of his plans for their future. The hand that had been tracing circles on her back had stopped dead. "Rebekah tried to kill her, and she had Damon's blood in her system."

Klaus had snarled, and Bonnie had been quick to amend: "Rebekah thought you left without telling her. That you left _her._ She tried to get it out of me where you were, but I played the part of scorned lover a bit too well," Bonnie frowned, "And she took it out on you by taking it out on Elena. She thought you would appear, I presume, to save her at the last minute. But you didn't."

"At least I still have the vial of her blood..." Klaus' voice trailed off as he saw Bonnie's face tighten.

"Damon discovered that. He... destroyed it."

Klaus had barked then, shot up from the bed – sending Bonnie tumbling off of him - and shook his head. When his eyes turned to hers again, they were black and lifeless. He was muttering about dreams when he lunged at her. She tried to kick him mindlessly, but he caught her leg and sunk his fangs into her calf. All of Klaus' thoughts were in Bonnie's voice: _I will kill you_. How defiantly she had said it. How committed she had been to it! How could she have changed her mind? She had been out to destroy his hybrids all along...

He didn't stop sucking her blood until he was struck by another memory, one so crisp and vibrant that it had to be real. The first time he bit Bonnie, and exchanged his blood with hers, and she dreamt his dreams.

He released her immediately. He fed her his blood. And he rocked her to sleep, hoping desperately that, somehow, she would dream his dreams and forgive him.

Now, Bonnie was sitting on his lap, her lips curved into a knowing smile. "Rebekah can handle herself, and I think you know Elena is off limits."

Klaus rolled his eyes again. "You forget to whom you speak."

"I love you, Niklaus," Bonnie said, pausing for the words to sink in, "But I won't let you hurt my friends."

"Your friends," Klaus scoffed, "Were supposed to protect her and prevent this from happening in the first place. How ironic, that she become a vampire _now_, after the sacrifice, and after everything _you_ went through to keep her human and safe. Let alone everything I went through..."

"Enough," Bonnie said sharply. She was frowning at him, so he returned in kind. After a tense moment, she released a breath. "Elena has been a vampire for three years. We have all made peace with it."

Klaus' expression didn't change. She placed another kiss on his lips, but when she pulled away his blue eyes were still hard and his jaw still clenched.

"Nothing has changed," Bonnie reminded him. "Our priority is to kill Mikael. We will deal with the rest later."

"You say that like you are reciting something," Klaus said, pinning her with his eyes. When she tried to shift, he held her against him.

"I have said it," Bonnie said softly, "A million times in three years. Trying to remember why I had to live without you."

"Your stubbornness," Klaus was smiling now, "Is adorable."

"Your single-mindedness isn't," Bonnie teased. "Put the hybrids on the backburner."

"The hybrids were to protect me from Mikael," Klaus snapped, "That was the whole point. Now, what do I have?"

"You have _me_," Bonnie said, pulling away from him. "Isn't that enough?"

"Perhaps Tyler..."

"You're not dragging Tyler into this," Bonnie said sternly. "Besides, he and Caroline went travelling after graduation and never came back."

Klaus snarled at the unexpected news, but Bonnie silenced him with her tone: "You have used him before, to get what you wanted..."

"To protect you!"

"Well, I'm the one protecting you now," Bonnie said, sliding free of his grasp. She stared at him, hands on her hips, "You had more faith in me and my abilities when I was trying to kill you."

"I have always been vulnerable to pretty young witches," Klaus said in a dismissive tone, though his eyes were sparking with aggression.

"What is your problem? It's almost like you want me to give up!" Bonnie threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"Do you even know the kind of power it would take," Klaus said in a rushed, hushed voice, "To kill someone like Mikael by magic alone? I assumed you were hiding me while your friends took care of things. You were not supposed to handle this on your own..."

"I handle everything on my own," Bonnie said with such cold acceptance that the hybrid was taken aback. "Katherine and the tomb; Alaric; Elena's vampirism; _you_. This is me. I _am_ powerful."

"You _were_ powerful," Klaus snapped back. Now he was standing. And approaching her. His jaw ticked, but Bonnie stood her ground even as his words chipped at her resolve. "Do not deny that your magic is weakening, has been weakening."

Bonnie said nothing, but met his eyes with resolve.

"You did not wake me on purpose, did you?" Klaus said, hovering above her. "Your magic was too weak to sustain the spell."

"Shut up."

"Why else would you not let me assist you?"

"I'm not-"

"You are," Klaus said, grabbing her wrist and holding it up between them. "I can hear the tremble in your pulse. You think Mikael will not hear that? How _weak_ you are?"

"Shut up!" Bonnie yelled again, trying to pull her wrist free, but he held tight.

"Bonnie, I will not let you die."

Bonnie's struggle stilled. "And I won't let you die."

Silence followed as they stared each other down. Her emerald eyes were so set and determined that he felt a twinge of pride at being loved by someone like her. Someone willing to fight and die for the people she loved. His thoughts were in her voice: _I love you._

"It seems we are at an impasse," Klaus let her wrist go. Her arm dropped, but she quickly captured his hands in hers.

"You make me stronger," Bonnie said simply. She pulled his hand to her lips and placed a kiss on the inside of his palm. "You make me strong enough to take him. My magic is already better than it has been in years. By the end of the month, when the witch's moon rises again, perhaps it will be enough to take him down."

"You mean, perhaps it will be enough to stun him so _I_ can take him down."

"I won't put you in his path," Bonnie said pleadingly, "After three years waiting for you, I'm not going to lose you."

Klaus' lips pulled up at the edges: "Try a thousand, love. And then you can argue."

**KB**

Bonnie was flustered when she arrived on campus, and her frustration didn't wane when she got to Professor Shane's office. Throwing the door open, she strolled in while tossing hr canvas purse on the chair. Crossing her arms, she offered a tight smile to both Shane – her mentor in magic – and Damon – her guinea pig.

"Good morning, Bonnie," Shane smiled at her, pausing to look up from the pages he sorted through. He had that familiar warmth about him that comforted and frightened Bonnie. As he watched her grow through the years, her sharp mind and wit only growing stronger with each lesson, he began to see her as more than just a mentee. A year ago, he had invited her out for drinks after their lessons. She had turned him down politely, but from the way he looked at her, she could tell the invitation was still open.

"You're late," Damon snapped from his place on one of the arm chairs in the room, closing the book he was reading loudly to punctuate his statement.

"I'm here now," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes at him. Shane smirked at their antics and Bonnie took her seat beside Damon. "Let's begin?"

Damon eyed her suspiciously as she reached out for the grimoire in his hands. Damon had not been the same person since Elena changed. For a brief, shining moment, she had seemed to come over to his dark side. She had professed her love and all. But she had been on that glorious precipice right before the fall – right before the hunger pushes you into madness. She had changed. She had run away from Mystic Falls. And when she returned at last, it was to Stefan's side she ran.

Leaving Damon with a disinterested, distracted Bonnie.

"Where were you?" He drew the words out slowly.

"At home," Bonnie replied easily, not raising her eyes.

"Doing what?"

Bonnie frowned, pausing to glance at the older Salvatore. "Drinking coffee."

"Exciting," Damon said, his eyes widening and narrowing on her.

"Damon, what is your problem?" Bonnie said lightly, turning the pages casually. "You're awfully testy today."

"I'm tired, Bonnie," Damon said, emphasizing her name in that way he did when he felt he was talking to his inferior, "We keep going over this spell and you can't even get it to work on _me_, let alone on Mikael. It's pointless."

"I'm getting stronger," Bonnie said, eyes shooting up to return his glare.

"Just give it up."

"I'm going to kill him."

"Klaus is not coming back for you," Damon snapped.

"Just because Elena didn't come back for you-"

Damon rose from his chair, hand reaching out to curl over Bonnie's neck. "Say it again, witch."

"Hey!" Shane said, coming over to them, but Damon turned to glare at him with empty, black eyes. He began to reach for one of the sharp pencils on his desk to attack him when...

"Argghhh!" Damon screamed, his hand moving from Bonnie's neck to his forehead. Shane gaped and stood back as Bonnie rose to her feet, glaring at Damon even as he fell to his knees. She towered over him, hands on her hips, willing to show Damon – as she had so many years before – exactly who the one with the power was.

"s...TOP Iiiiiit!" Damon barely managed to get out through clenched teeth.

So, she did.

"You've become cruel in your old age," he snarled at her.

"Don't threaten me again," Bonnie said simply, falling back into the chair.

"That was..." Shane shook his head, "remarkable."

"It's an aneurysm spell," Damon rolled his eyes, realizing Bonnie hadn't done that to him in a long time, let alone with the professor present.

"I know what it is," Shane said. "I've seen it in use before, but only by the most powerful of witches."

"By powerful, you mean bratty."

"Don't test me," Bonnie chimed in softly.

"My point is," Shane cleared his throat. "Bonnie shouldn't be strong enough to do that."

Damon's and Bonnie's heads shot up simultaneously. Their eyes connected, each one searching the other's to determine what the other was thinking. The second Bonnie's expression grew defensive, Damon snarled, growled, prepared to launch a second attack when-

The words flew from Bonnie's mouth before she could think or react. She extended her hand towards him, fingers splayed as if focusing her power towards him. Damon moved to stop her but... he couldn't move. He intended to make his eyes widen in surprise, but they wouldn't budge. He was trapped. In his own body. That means, Bonnie...

"You did it," Shane gaped, coming closer to the two. Bonnie kept her hand out, blinking at Damon as if she herself was surprised. Her brow furrowed from the exertion, but she managed to keep him still long enough for Shane to inspect him.

Shane circled the vampire. He withdrew a sharpie from his shirt pocket and began testing him. He waved it in front of the vampire, expecting his eyes to follow, but they didn't. He whacked Damon lightly in the face with it, but he didn't move. He took it out and began to mark his face, turning to Bonnie when he finished for her approval.

Damon had a marker moustache that curved up at the ends like a cartoon villain.

Her sudden laughter broke her concentration, and broke the paralysis spell, sending Damon falling unhappily to the ground. He got up with a growl, but was too astonished to retaliate.

"It doesn't make sense," Damon snapped, his eyes going crazy as he stared at her. "You couldn't come close to doing this spell last week, and now two in a row..."

"I guess the plan is working," Bonnie said, averting her eyes.

"Do you think it has increased your powers?" Shane asked slowly. "The werewolf?"

Bonnie licked her lips, speaking slowly, "What else could it be?"

She tried to avoid his gaze, but Damon's wide, wild eyes demanded her attention.

"What did you do, witch?"

"Nothing."

"You couldn't have gained this much power so suddenly from just one were-pup."

"How would you know?"

He turned to Shane: "It's as if _some crazy spell_ had been draining her powers all this time..."

"Damon..." Shane warned.

"What is he talking about?" Bonnie snapped.

"You know what, witch!" Damon snarled at her.

"Damon!" Shane again.

"WHAT?"

"What exactly are you accusing me of?"Bonnie interrupted.

"I think you know what."

Pause. He was accusing her of harboring Klaus. _Again_.

How else to explain his disappearance? How else to explain no one else – not even Rebekah or Mikael – being able to find him? How else to explain her not giving in to his advances?

"You, as always, are the crazy one." She rolled her eyes.

"Bonnie, it's not that surprising he would think that..." Shane offered gently, fully aware of the common dispute.

"Why? Because I didn't return your interest?" she sneered at both of them, "Either of you?"

"No," Shane said testily. He shot his eyes behind her. "Because he's standing right behind you."

They turned to see Klaus nod at the group in greeting, a tight smile on his face.

"Damon," he said congenially. "You have something on your face."

**KB**

"Why did you come here?" Bonnie could feel herself flush with anger as she led the hybrid across campus to where her car was parked. She had hurried out of the room before any of the men could say anything further, grabbing Klaus' hand and exiting before Damon had a chance to think and follow them. Her voice was hushed, and she deliberately picked the darkest corners between the ivy-colored buildings, to avoid drawing human attention. Not that Klaus seemed to mind as he seemed to stalk single-mindedly behind her. "I told you to stay at home."

"And I have told you, _many times_, that you can't keep me in that house forever." Klaus said lightly behind her, though his face was anything but amused. When Bonnie left for her daily appointments, he had assumed that she would be meeting other witches or old friends. Not two older men who each looked at her with an interest that made his fingers curl into fists.

"When were you going to tell me?" Klaus said, catching her arm in a particularly dark corner. The sunlight streamed from either side, co-eds walking happily to and from class. Klaus pushed her against the wall, covering her body with his where no one could see. "That you were meeting _them_?"

"We're in public," Bonnie reminded him, taking a patient breath. "We can't afford to have people knowing you're awake and in Mystic Falls."

"Bonnie, your concern is heart-warming, really," Klaus rolled his eyes as if she was the one being the immature child, "But I think I can handle myself."

"You don't seem to have a handle on yourself right now," Bonnie challenged, raising her chin.

"Am I hurting you?"

"No."

"Then what more can you ask for?"

"I am not fighting with you," Bonnie frowned. "Let's go home."

Pause.

"Who was that man?"

"Who?"

"Obviously, I do not refer to Damon."

Bonnie's jaw ticked.

"Professor Shane teaches a class on the occult. He has travelled extensively around the world..."

"Not more than I have."

"...He has met many powerful witches—"

"Not more than me."

"He is helping me with my magic!"

"Not like I can." Klaus concluded.

"It's not a contest!" Bonnie burst out.

Klaus pinned her with his eyes. He held her gaze before letting them drop to her lips. When he met her gaze again, his expression had softened. "It better not be, love," Klaus said, reaching up to slide his fingers against the side of her face. "Because we both know who will win."

"It's not," Bonnie said. "It's not like you to be so jealous."

"I think you will find," Klaus said, grabbing her luscious hips and hoisting her up slightly against the wall. Her surprised gasp of air as he pinned her against it with his body only drove him further. She curled her fingers into his hair, her eyes dancing with flirtation. "That I am a very possessive man."

"I think you would have realized by now," Bonnie said, linking her legs around his waist and giving him a quick, forceful kiss, "That I am not a possession."

Klaus leaned forward, his voice sending chills through Bonnie as he spoke against her ear. "Don't leave me, Bonnie."

"I won't," Bonnie said as his hand trailed between them to unbutton her jeans. Her hips jerked towards him.

"Don't keep secrets from me," he said, dropping her back to the ground and lowering his face to her stomach. He placed a slow kiss there, enjoying the warmth of her skin and the feeling of her fingers in his hair.

"It's not a secret," Bonnie said as Klaus began trailing kisses over her hip bones. "But you have to trust me."

"Hmm," Klaus voiced noncommittally.

"I've seen your dreams," Bonnie said slowly, and felt his movements stop. "You don't trust me. You don't see me. You're confusing me with other memories, other people... I would not hurt you now."

"Part of me..." Klaus said slowly, raising his eyes to glance up at her, "Knows that."

"Believe that part of you," Bonnie pleaded. "And trust me again."

"I will trust you," Klaus promised as he returned his attention to her stomach, "If you tell me about this unholy trinity of yours..."

"Well, it started shortly after Elena turned... Shane found a spell that was strong enough to work on an Original; that had the mark of Ayanna on it-" she gasped as he let his fangs trace the curve of her hip bone to barely break the skin before sliding his tongue out to collect his prize, "And Damon volunteered to let me test it on him. He thinks Mikael is the last threat to Elena. Now that's she's a vampire that feeds on humans—" Bonnie shuddered as Klaus slipped her jeans down over her hips and lay a kiss over her panties, "she's not off-limits to him."

"Thank you for filling me in," Klaus said, though his eyes were already flashing their kaleidoscope of colors as he reacted to her scent. "I am not as fragile or senile as you seem to think."

"I know you're not-"

"I can still protect you, Bonnie," Klaus promised, sliding her underwear to the side. Her fingers curled in his hair when his tongue hit her skin, "I can still love you better than anyone else."

The conversation devolved to sighs.

**KB**

Klaus awoke three days later. _Hungry_.

He was having hallucinations again. The kind that accompanied the cravings, that distorted reality. He could barely rise from bed, the voices were so strong – the image of his father's snarling face as he hit him was replaced with that of Bonnie's. Except this time, she said _I love you_...

Klaus wasn't a fool, though, and no simple disorienting spell could defeat him. He recognized these hallucinations for what they were. He knew, in his heart of hearts, that Bonnie was all softness and warmth when it came to him. And he knew, that the way to free himself of these visions, was to sip her enchanted blood.

"Bonnie..." he called out, his hand rising to his head and his brow furrowing from the frustration. He thought he saw her sitting at the foot of her bed, talking to the now empty coffin, but it was just a mirage. A deceit.

She had taken to leaving to meet Damon and Shane before he awoke. She was feeling stronger, more powerful. She returned in the evenings, happy to inform Klaus that she had been able to hold the paralysis spell a bit longer each time. But Damon was not nearly as strong as Mikael – a few minutes on him could be mere fractions of seconds on Mikael. Every time, Klaus assured her that was all he would need.

"Bonnie..." he called out again, but not response. Could he wait her until she returned? Could he sit here all day in this throw of hallucinations? It was its own special kind of torture...

And then he heard it: a single, thumping heart beat. Downstairs. Living room. Another dream?

He shifted from the bed, felt his face darkening with veins and his eyes shifting pitch black, as he bounded down the stairs.

He got to the living room, and there she was.

A version of a young Bonnie Bennett with blue eyes instead of green. With a tuft of curly brown hair instead of black. A little girl, probably eight years old, wearing yellow pants, a purple hoodie and large, bright blue headphones.

He blinked at her, his eyes widening.

"You're back?" she said, her mouth dropping as if in distaste. "Guess that's why Bonnie has been so M.I.A."

Then she turned away from him and back to the iPod in her hand.

He growled at her, preparing to attack this figment of his imagination when she turned to him with a big, sarcastic gap-toothed smile, and said: "Welcome home, Niklaus."

He staggered backwards.

Her eyes glowed yellow.


	23. The Babysitter's a Hybrid

**AN: Hello! Thank you very much for the reviews! Sorry for leaving you at such a cliff hanger (just kidding, I'm not sorry hehehe), thanks for sticking with me! Without further ado...**

_**The Babysitter's a Hybrid**_

_Once upon a time, there was a wolf_.

The first page of her heavy story book was framed with woven teal and gold vines that lit up to the touch. A large, framed "O" took up the upper corner where the story began. A short tale, it stretched to the bottom of the page in thin, loopy print. With the book pressed closed against her chest, Amelia couldn't read the words that were in the ancient book. But she knew them by heart, like one of Bonnie's spells that always made her feel safe.

And she certainly needed to feel safe now, with the biggest, baddest wolf she had ever met staring down at her from across the coffee table like she was a pup that was not doing as she was told.

His jaw ticked, but besides that, he had not moved in ten minutes.

When she greeted him, he had blinked at her as if he had been struck. Then he approached her studiously, pausing to inhale the air around her as if it held the answer to the question in his eyes. After circling her twice, he reclined in the seat opposite her, crossed his arms, and stared.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a raised finger and an "uh-uh". She tried again and he spoke over her, that _Bonnie would be home soon. _Amelia tried one more time, and his yellow eyes turned into black orbs and stuck. So she huffed out an annoyed breath instead, crossed her arms, copied his stance and stare, and waited.

And waited.

And the clock ticked.

And the story began.

_Once upon a time, there was a wolf._

**KB**

Bonnie took her time strolling through campus in the sunshine. She could feel her powers pooling in her palms as she drove to campus. All of the red lights turned green for her. The clouds seemed to disperse and blow away with the radiance of her smile and the lightness of her heart. As she walked to Shane's office, all of the elevator was ready and waiting for her.

Everything was working out.

Her magic was getting stronger. The paralysis spell seemed to be holding longer. Mikael had not shown up yet, though she was sure he would any day now; and Klaus' episodes were fewer and further between.

_Everything was working out._

So why did she feel like something was off?

"Well, if it isn't the Wicked Witch of the West." A mischievous voice played out so close to her ear in the close confines of the elevator that Bonnie jumped, her hand flying to her heart.

"Damon," she frowned, turning around to see the ice-eyed vampire had not budged an inch. Instead, he smirked as she took a step back into the elevator wall to regain some sense of personal space. She shoved his shoulder backwards lightly when he made a move to come forward.

"So touchy about her personal space," Damon said, narrowing his eyes at the witch.

Bonnie squared her shoulders and crossed her arms. She quirked an eyebrow at him: "So you _do_ understand the concept. And all these years, I just thought you were incapable of comprehending basic etiquette." She finished with a smirk.

Damon grinned good-naturedly and rocked back on his heels. "I understand; I just choose to ignore."

"Right," Bonnie said, turning back to face the front of the elevator. Damon mimicked her stance, as he often did without thinking. They had become quite the duo, the two of them, over the years. Though they bickered and insulted each other constantly, Damon had come to depend on the trust and camaraderie underneath it all – a trust that began when he handed her unconscious body over to their worst enemy simply because she had asked him to. _And yet..._

"Like my ignoring your lies about Klaus." He sneered the name out.

"And there it is," Bonnie rolled her eyes as the elevator dinged to announce their arrival. She strode down the hallway, Damon following lazily behind her with his hands in his pockets.

"I let you torment me for _years_ under the pretense that your sugar daddy—"

"Eww." She said over her shoulder.

"Had up and left you—"

"Like Elena left you?"

Damon glowered, but his smirk told her he couldn't help but be amused. "And here I find out, he's been playing sleeping beauty while you do his dirty work all this time..."

"It's not like that," Bonnie said. "It's my plan; it's always been my plan."

"You sure he didn't compel you to say that?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Unlike some vampires, Klaus doesn't have to compel his girlfriend."

"Harsh." Damon said, stopping in his tracks and putting on a wounded expression to elicit a smile from the witch. "But don't you think it's a little pathetic to wait around for the guy for three years?"

"One word, Damon," Bonnie scoffed, "_Katherine_."

"Like I said," Damon grimaced, "Pathetic."

They reached Shane's office door, and Bonnie moved to knock lightly, but Damon grabbed her hand and spun her to face him.

"Are you sure about this?" He scanned her eyes, "Risking your life for Klaus?"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it when you thought it was about Elena," Bonnie pointed out.

"That's different," Damon said, but his subsequent silence told her that he knew it wasn't different at all.

"I've always had your back," Bonnie said, meeting Damon's eyes with a seriousness that surprised him. "Just trust me this time, and have mine."

Damon replied with as much gravity: "I'll help_ you_, Bonnie. But if it comes down to you or Klaus, don't pretend not to know who I'm leaving for dead."

"Damon, this plan is the last hope I've got."

"And you're the last friend I've got."

"Now, I think _my_ feelings are hurt," Shane interrupted the bickering friends from his place in the doorway.

"For the last time, Shane, you're not my type." Damon rolled his eyes, striding past Shane and bumping his shoulder in the process.

"It's the beating heart," Bonnie pretended to console the Professor who nodded in understanding. She moved to walk past him, but he shifted to block her path.

"What?" She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" Shane frowned at her.

"We're... practicing," Bonnie said, shooting a look at Damon who shrugged at her.

"I'm just here for the sorority girls," he said, already searching Shane's office for the liquor.

"Wha-," Bonnie glanced at Shane who didn't disagree. "Am I missing something?"

"What, we're friends," Shane said defensively. "We are allowed to bond over our mutual heart break, are we not?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. Normally, the jokes and the teasing was good fun and games, but now... "Is this because I didn't tell you about Klaus?"

"No," Shane said slowly, waiting for Bonnie to realize her mistake. When she continued to stare at him confused, he cleared his throat and put on his lecture voice: "Bonnie Bennett, what day do you think it is?"

"Friday."

"It's Saturday."

"No, it's not," Bonnie said, mentally rethinking the past few days. Everything had been such a blur... Shane stared at her kindly, waiting patiently for her to get to the answer he wanted her to make.

"Holy shit," Bonnie gaped at him, "It's Saturday."

"You should probably go," Shane said.

"Yeah," Bonnie let out a panicked huff of breath and turned on her heels, running towards the elevator.

"What's that?" She heard Damon sneer from behind her "Did someone leave their little puppy at the pound?"

"Shut up, Damon!"

**KB**

"What is that?" the beast finally spoke from his perch, his eyes glancing at the book in her hands.

"A book," Amelia replied tartly.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Do you even know what you hold?"

"It's a story book," Amelia said with exasperation, clutching it more tightly to her chest.

"It's a grimoire," Klaus said. "Is it Bonnie's?"

"It's mine," Amelia frowned, "But Bonnie can borrow it if she wants."

Klaus leaned forward and reached out his hand expectantly, but the child only clung to the book more tightly. He raised his hand at the wrist and let it drop again as if to say, _hand it over now_.

"Come on, sweetling," Klaus said, though his eyes were hard, "give it here."

The image of the girl shifted and blurred in front of him. In the back of his head, he heard Bonnie's voice as it was when she hummed in the shower. He could see her form now – faint and misty – as she walked into the house with him behind her. If he looked up, he was certain he would see them making love on the roof – not exactly a thought he wanted to have in mind as he negotiated with a terrorist.. err, child. He shook his head to keep the images at bay.

"The book." He said. "Now."

_Kill him_, the voice struck him so suddenly, whispered so closely to his ear, that for a second he thought the frail little thing had said it herself.

But she just looked at him with unimpressed eyes - a superior boredom.

_Keep the balance of nature_, another voice sounded as faint as if it had been spoken a century ago and was still bouncing around the walls.

"Give it to me."

_Kill him._

"No."

_Kill Klaus._

"Give me the book!" Klaus bellowed at the girl. He expected her lip to jut out and tremble, as Rebekah's often did. Or her mouth to drop open, like that Gilbert girl. Perhaps he even half expected the dramatic look of betrayal Katerina loved to feign or the wide-eyed annoyance that he had seen grace Caroline's face.

But instead, her brows knitted together and she said, as quickly as her small mouth could: "Once upon a time, there was a wolf."

Klaus frowned, his hand still extended. She continued, just as quickly.

"He didn't have a family or a pack to call his own, so every full moon, he roamed the world alone."

He stared at her, and she closed her eyes against his gaze, her eyes remembering her mother's script.

"One night, he wandered into a meadow where the trees were few, and the moon was high and bright."

Still, he said nothing, so she soldiered on.

"And found a witch."

Klaus' hand dropped.

"She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was chanting a spell in the clearing, and when she turned to face him, the tall grass blew back as if it was shining a path to him."

Amelia opened one eye slightly, sparing a glance at her audience. He was sitting there, hands clasped in front of him, leaning forward, and nodding at her to continue. She grinned, her eyes snapping open and flashing a bright amber before she prattled on, hands waving excitedly for emphasis.

"At first, she tried to shoo him away."

"Now, why would she do that?" Klaus smirked.

"She wasn't very smart," Amelia said decidedly, and the hybrid laughed.

"Wolves are cool," Amelia insisted, and Klaus nodded his agreement like a king. She frowned at that: "Anyway, don't interrupt me."

"Do go on."

She cleared her throat: "At first, she tried to shoo him away." She paused for an interruption, keeping an eye on her unruly listener. "But he followed her and approached her. He tried to scare her by growling, but she started laughing instead. She began chanting again, and the moon seemed to shine brighter and brighter. She spun around happily in the meadow, and the wolf looked at her, trying to understand why she was smiling when she should be scared."

She paused. "Do you know why?"

"Because the wolf is making her magic stronger."

Amelia scowled, "You heard this one before!"

"You are just a good story teller," Klaus replied magnanimously.

"_Anyway_," Amelia said bitterly, "She told him that he gave her the strength to make the moon glow brighter, which made her magic herbs grow stronger, and would keep her magic strong. The wolf seemed to understand her, and for the rest of the night, they made the moon glow. And in the morning..." she trailed off, sparing a glance at Klaus.

"Well, don't stop there!" Klaus said generously.

"They fell in love!" Amelia beamed at him, her whole face lighting up. "And the wolf was not alone again."

"Is that the story in your book?" Klaus asked, nodding at it.

Amelia clutched it tightly, as if she had forgotten to hold on to it while she recited the tale. "Yes."

"Why did you tell me that?"

Amelia's face heated up with a blush. She wasn't going to tell him that it made her feel better. She wasn't going to tell him anything at all, just like she hadn't told any of her foster parents when they asked her what the story – which they read without her permission – meant.

"Because."

"Because what?"

"I thought you'd like it."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're a wolf," Amelia said, like it was the most obvious thing. Klaus smirked. "And you're in love with a witch."

Klaus choked on his own breath at the child's brazenness.

"You're Bonnie's boyfriend."

Klaus smiled, "You're right about that."

"That's why I'm helping Bonnie," Amelia whispered, her eyes shooting up to meet Klaus'.

"Helping her do what?" Klaus asked slowly, carefully, finally getting to the point.

"Live happily ever after!" Amelia exclaimed with irritation. "Duh!"

"Did _they_ live happily ever after?" Klaus cleared his throat, and forced his voice to be unimpressed.

Amelia made a face. "Yep," she said, averting her eyes and jumping to her feet.

Then she turned towards the kitchen, pausing only when she saw he didn't follow. "Well, come on," she said impatiently, tapping her foot. "I'm hungry."

Klaus blinked slowly before standing.

"As am I, pet. As am I."

**KB**

Amelia wasn't at the bus stop where Bonnie usually picked her up. She tried calling the little girl's cell phone but it rang out three times. She circled the block twice for the silhouette of a lank, slight girl with a puff of curly brown hair – but nothing.

When she realized where the child was, it hit her to the gut with a fear so cold that her saliva turned to ice, and she found it hard to swallow or breathe.

_Klaus_.

She had left the little girl alone with a blood-hungry, hallucinating hybrid.

Who knew if he would even recognize that she, the young girl, was kin?

**KB**

The scene Bonnie walked in on was not exactly what she was expecting.

"That's not how Bonnie does it," Amelia said snarkily to the hybrid, her eyes downcast on the sorry excuse for pancakes in front of her. Klaus, from his place at the stove, glowered at the child.

"Well, Bonnie's not here now, is she!"

"When's she coming back?"

"How am I supposed to know..."

"You're like her familiar or something..."

"I. Am. Not." Klaus waved the spatula at her.

She responded with a triumphant, gap-toothed grin and tilted her chin the air much like the witch did. "Well. I _am_."

"That doesn't make you special," Klaus retorted like a child.

"Isn't it beneath you to argue with a third grader?" Amelia stuck her tongue out at him.

"I must be dreaming," Klaus muttered to himself.

"You're not," Bonnie said as she strolled in. When Klaus turned to look at her, she was hit immediately by tension she had not sensed before. As Amelia leaped up to hug her, Bonnie's eyes met and held Klaus' as they shifted from blue to yellow and back again. The witch swallowed, audibly, her pulse picking up nervously. Klaus averted his gaze to keep from frightening her, choosing instead to turn off the stove and throw the dishes in the sink.

Bonnie spoke softly to the child, though her eyes never left Klaus'. "Darling, why don't you go to your room and do your homework?" She pat the child's head, "I'll bring you some milk and toast after I have a chat with Klaus, okay?"

"Okay," Amelia said grudgingly. She lowered her voice to a whisper, tugging on Bonnie's shirt so the taller woman would lean down to hear the secret: "He plays nice if you tell him a story."

Bonnie and Klaus smirked at the same time. "I'll keep that in mind," Bonnie replied, tapping the girl's nose before she scampered off to her downstairs bedroom.

Then, with a relieved exhale, Bonnie turned to face Klaus, an apology ready on her lips, when the tenseness in his arms and back stilled her. He gripped the kitchen counter so fiercely, she thought the granite might break. He let out a shuddered breath and when he finally turned to her, his eyes were black, and his face a frightening tangle of veins.

"Klaus," Bonnie swallowed loudly.

"Take her the milk and toast," Klaus said through gritted teeth as his fangs descended.

"Okay," Bonnie said, extending her hands to calm him.

"Then..." He walked up to her, intending to brush past her, but needing to inhale her scent as his lips brushed against her neck. He started tugging her shirt free of her jeans, and slid his hands against the hot skin of her stomach. The second she began to lean into his embrace, he pulled away.

"...come upstairs," he said huskily before striding away. "I need you."

**KB**

Bonnie locked the door behind her as she entered the room, whispering a few words in latin as she did so that had the whole room smelling of sage.

"A silencing spell," Bonnie explained. "So Amelia doesn't hear us."

"Good," Klaus said, leaning against the frame of the bay window. He had been staring at the bedroom door, waiting for the witch's arrival. "What is about to happen is not for a child's ears."

She had left Ameilad doing homework that would occupy her for an hour before she moved to entertain herself with one of the many children's books Bonnie had filled her room with. She wouldn't need Bonnie until lunch time, which left Bonnie and Klaus plenty of time to settle things.

"First," Bonnie said, tying her hair into a pony tail as she approached him, "Let's take care of this." She came to stand right in front of him, but he did not uncross his arms.

His face was still riddled with black veins, and his fangs flashed in the light. As she met his eyes, leaning up on her tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his lips, he did not budge. He looked at her as if he didn't recognize her. She placed her hands over his, unlocking them, and moving them to hold steady on her hips. Then she kissed him again, running her tongue under his upper lip and over the tip of his fang. His hands flexed, digging into the flesh of her hips and holding her in place as he nipped her tongue.

They moved in perfect rhythm, lips meshing and tongues lapping at each other as the first drops of blood started to pull Klaus back to sanity. He ran his hands up and down her side, revelling in the warmth – the solidness, the realness – of her. She wasn't a misty, floating image or a disembodied voice. She was his Bonnie, and she was rubbing herself against his body slowly and hungrily, in sharp contrast to the pounding of her pulse. Soon enough, he had spun them around, pressing Bonnie's back against the window, and pulling her shirt above her head. He growled at the sight of her full breasts wrapped up in a blood red bra, and whimpered for mercy when he yanked her jeans down enough to see that her panties matched. The scent of her body, the sensation of her heat, and the sound of her sharp, feminine intakes of breath mingled with pleading moans, was exactly what Klaus needed.

He was coming back together. She was grounding him. She was soothing the wolf and healing the vampire – letting them both know that the hallucinations were not real. That she, his Bonnie, was real.

"When I'm with you," he breathed against her, laying open mouthed kisses against her neck as he gripped her butt in his palms and held her in place, "Everything else falls away. The dreams," he slid his thumb underneath her to rub against her clit and she cried out in pleasure, "The hallucinations." He licked her neck slowly before dragging a fang against the skin, "Nothing compares to this." He watched the blood pool, sliding down her neck in time with her pounding heart, trailing down her collarbone to pool in the valley of her breasts. "Not a thousand, not a million years of life," he muttered as his tongue followed the blood, and his thumb responded to the moans, "is as real as you."

"Klaus," Bonnie whispered against him as she trembled on the precipice. She felt her world shake as he licked blood from the curves of her breasts and began to tug her jeans down to her thighs. Her hands found his belt buckle and began to do the same for him.

Then suddenly, he paused, looking up to meet her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Bonnie cried, her face stunned that he would go so far just to deny her – deny them both.

"What about-"

"We'll be quick," Bonnie promised – or pleaded, his mind wasn't working well enough to tell.

"Alright," he said, licking the trail of blood backwards back up to the wound at her throat. Then he latched on at the same moment he slid inside of her. And as he sucked at her neck, she ground her hips against him slowly. In minutes, they found themselves both satiated, lying sweaty but happy on the cold, hardwood floor.

"That was..." Klaus smiled slowly, looking at her with the welcome kind of dreamy eyes, "Just what I needed."

"Me too," Bonnie said, reaching for his hand. "These trysts are as much for me as they are for you."

"I don't know how," Klaus shook his head, looking at the green eyed witch, "But you keep me... grounded."

"And you keep me strong," Bonnie said, placing a kiss to his fingers. "Our lives are entwined, remember?"

"As if I could ever forget," Klaus ran his finger along Bonnie's face, his eyes so reverent that she hated having to break the moment.

"We should talk," Bonnie said, "About Amelia."

Klaus' face hardened. "I almost thought I dreamt her up."

"No," Bonnie laughed humorlessly. "She's very real."

"Who is she?"

"An orphan," Bonnie said quickly. "Shane found her..."

Klaus rolled his eyes, standing so suddenly that Bonnie had to catch herself from falling as she had been leaning on him. She scrambled to her feet as well.

"She is a gift from Shane," he said with distaste. When she scowled at him, he added haughtily: "Am I wrong?"

"Yes," Bonnie said just as snippily. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Normally, the image of his fierce witch frowning at him in her lingerie would be enough to stir him up again, but now the only emotion he felt was anger.

"A few months ago, Shane got a call from a foster family about one of their kids owning a book filled with strange symbols. They wanted his advice on the occult. They were human," Bonnie shook her head, "They didn't understand her."

Klaus frowned as he buckled his pants, and Bonnie reached for her own as she continued.

"She'd been in the system for two years, but no one had noticed before. She's a smart kid, so she ran away on full moons – her social workers thought she was a brat, and she just kept getting placed again and again. She was never with any one family for long, so no one saw the pattern."

"That she's a werewolf." Klaus would never cease to be amazed at the stubborn idiocy of humans.

"Right. Shane arranged for a pack nearby to take her in. While he was looking for a suitable family, I took care of her. After reading her grimoire, it became common knowledge that werewolves strengthen a witch's powers. After hearing the story myself, it became pretty clear that we were sort of... meant to help each other."

A soft smile hit Klaus' lips at Bonnie's sentimentality. Her jeans unbuttoned but fitting snuggly, she approached him and wrapped her arms around him before continuing.

"Amelia and I became close. I told her about Mikael; told her she would help me like the wolf helped the witch in the story."

Pause.

"I also told her about you."

"Yes, I deduced as much," Klaus muttered, remembering how the child had welcomed him back to his own home.

"I didn't want to lie to her," Bonnie admitted, "I wanted her to trust me, and to be honest, I wanted someone to trust. After she was placed, I made an arrangement with her foster family to take her two weekends a month. Shane thought it would help with my magic," Bonnie smirked, "But Damon called her a were-pup and said it would never work."

Klaus frowned. "It didn't work. Whatever strength she generates, it wasn't enough to keep the desiccation spell going as you planned."

"You're right," Bonnie admitted reluctantly.

"In any case, she is no longer needed, as I am here to provide all the strength you need to actually defeat Mikael," Klaus said, slipping a strand of hair behind Bonnie's ear. "She can return to her pack, and be out of harm's way."

Bonnie frowned: "Her safety? Is that really why you want her gone?"

"I've told you before," Klaus ran his thumb over her lips, "I don't share."

He had waited forever for her. His Bonnie. He had the span of one measly, pathetic lifetime with her. He wasn't going to spend a fraction of it on someone else, and he wasn't going to let her either.

Bonnie let out a shaky breath, "I thought you would've noticed yourself, but..."

"Noticed what?"

"I didn't just agree to this because she is a young werewolf, or because she happens to be an adorable kid. And her pack didn't just agree to this because they wanted a free babysitter."

Klaus frowned. "Are you saying, you will not give her up?"

"Klaus," Bonnie said slowly. "You're strong because you are three things at once: man, vampire, and wolf. She's strong because of the same. She is _still_ our greatest chance at defeating Mikael."

"She's eight years old." Klaus scoffed.

"That means nothing if she's one of yours."

"What?"

"She's like you." Bonnie said cautiously, waiting for it to sink in.

"Again," Klaus demanded, searching Bonnie's eyes to decipher the truth from her words. "Say it again."

"She's the key to killing Mikael," Bonnie repeated, reaching up to tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear and let the back of her fingers graze his cheek. "She's one of yours."

He eyed her suspiciously: "A Mikaelson?"

"No," Bonnie said with a faint smile. "A hybrid."


	24. Where the Wild Things Are

**AN: Hi everyone! Thank you very, very much for the lovely reviews! I'm sorry this update took so long – I've been crazy busy. I hope you like this chapter. I hope it's not **_**too much**_** going on! I really hope you enjoy it, and Amelia!**

_**Where the Wild Things Are**_

Bonnie Bennett's life ran in cycles of lessons. She took classes in the occult, history, classics and mythology at the University – and smiled to herself whenever mythic heroes resembling her lover appeared.

Maybe King Arthur was really Klaus? Maybe Odysseus? Maybe Beowulf? _More like Grendel_.

With Elena and Caroline having the rest of their after-lives to go to university (and go together), Bonnie had struck out on this adventure alone. Had grown accustomed to talking to herself, laughing at her own jokes. Even now, she'd sometimes find herself thinking out loud, pausing to stop only when Klaus' amused eyes caught hers.

Outside of the traditional classroom, there were the private lessons with Professor Shane followed by practical magic one-oh-one with Shane and her guinea pig Damon. To the other coeds, she was Shane's trustworthy research assistant preparing for graduate work. To Shane, she was an unlikely protégé who turned up in her grandmother's office one Spring looking for answers a spirit couldn't provide. For Bonnie, she was her own last hope.

And every other weekend, Bonnie switched roles and became the teacher. She babysat a werewolf with missing teeth, a sharp tongue, and a penchant for fairytales.

And magic.

"She's a hybrid," Bonnie said again from the shower. She rinsed her body under the water as Klaus sat perched on the bathtub staring at her. The hunger she usually found in his eyes was replaced with concentration. "A naturally occurring combination of two creatures unlikely to reproduce together."

"I've never heard of such a thing." Klaus said, scanning his brain for evidence of any similar creature in existence while simultaneously scanning Bonnie's eyes for a hint of deception. But without looking, even he knew, from the way Amelia clung to that story, that she told the truth.

"It's unlikely but not impossible," Bonnie confirmed, shutting the water off and reaching for a towel: "Amelia is a witch."

"She is a witch, _and_ an active werewolf?"

"Yes."

"I find that hard to believe," Klaus frowned, remembering the difficulty he had himself in creating hybrids of another kind.

"Stranger things have happened," Bonnie said, patting her skin dry as she headed back to the bedroom. Klaus followed closely at her heels.

"Perhaps I will see for myself," he continued decisively: "Full moon tomorrow."

"No," Bonnie said, as she slipped on undergarments and reached for a maxi dress, "She'll be with her pack. They turn together."

Klaus nodded to the woods visible from the bay window, "Nearby?"

"Not outside," Bonnie frowned. "In a basement."

"In a... basement?" Klaus scowled at her as if she had said the most preposterous thing he had ever heard. "You must be joking."

"The woods are too close to humans, there's no telling what would happen!"

"Do you know what it would do to a child to be locked up in a dark room?" Klaus chastised Bonnie, "Like she's a monster?"

"Do you know what it would do to her to wake up somewhere strange, covered in some poor person's blood?" Bonnie matched his tone. "I'm thinking of her best interests, as is her pack."

"As am I," Klaus insisted. They stared at each other for a long, tense moment. Neither blinked, green and blue eyes both hard and reflecting their own determination in the other. Until he broke the spell with a whisper: "You said I wasn't a monster."

"You're not."

"Neither is that little girl."

"She's not a little girl on the full moon, Klaus," Bonnie's voice held warning that he refused to heed.

"She is a child, and she should not fear what she is!" He spoke loudly, over her own thoughts.

"Alright!" Bonnie said, throwing her hands up before her, "This is a moot point anyway." She met his blue eyes, and forced herself to say words that she often regretted the truth of: "We're not her parents. It's not our decision."

Klaus frowned, but let her have her moment. It would not do to upset his only cure for the voices that had been plaguing him. And it would be useless to continue to argue about it now when the moment of truth was days away.

"You're right," he forced himself to say.

"It's why she's so strong, you know," Bonnie said, "She recharges herself. She empowers _herself_. The more she's with her pack, the more powerful she becomes as a witch, the better she is at controlling her wolf. It's this perfect, beautiful cycle that she is just beginning to get the hang of."

Bonnie's eyes shone as she spoke of the little girl, and the corresponding twinge in Klaus' chest almost made him bite his words. He reached a hand out to smooth the hair from her forehead. Letting it fall to cup her cheek, he gently tipped her face towards his.

Searching her eyes, he asked: "Is that the plan? To kill Mikael, you will channel a child?"

"I will channel you," Bonnie said. "Even with her strength growing every day, I cannot risk her not being strong enough. The difference between a wolf and a hybrid witch, it seems, is that while you cannot feel the effects of being channelled, she _can_. Her witch half is only as strong as her wolf half. The more power her wolf feeds to me, the less her witch has."

"If you pull too much," Klaus concluded, "She will die."

"Yes," Bonnie said, her lips a thin, grim line. "I never intended to channel her for a spell that would kill Mikael. I wouldn't put her life at risk." Now Bonnie's eyes were searching his, "You must know that."

"I know that the only life you would risk is yours," he said, and she could taste the bitterness of his words on her tongue. "If you attack him with a spell, it will kill you."

"It will not," Bonnie insisted, though in both their hearts they knew it was true. Even with the power of a hundred witches behind her, Bonnie courted death to take Klaus down with a spell alone. Now, with herself and a half-witch-pup, Bonnie did not stand a chance.

She would die.

"You will die," Klaus said, his brows knitting together, his hand tightening on her face. His other hand found her arm and he gripped her, tightly, perhaps too tightly – but she didn't flinch or move. He had to hold her, had to know she was real, she was alive. Because who knew when the stubborn, self-righteous witch would betray him by saving his life? By dying for him? By being dead. "It's not too late," he continued, "I can leave before Mikael traces me here. We can..."

"Never see each other again?" Bonnie frowned, reaching up to twine his fingers in hers. She slowly lowered his hand from her face. Her eyes were fierce and determined on his. He both hated and admired her for it. "That is not an option."

"If you die," Klaus said slowly, like he was talking to a child, "We will never see each other again."

"Oh, you'll hallucinate me up," Bonnie teased. But Klaus was not amused. She let out a long sigh and tried again. "I will not kill him with a spell."

"You have a plan?" Klaus frowned.

"I," she let out the breath she held slowly, "Have a stake."

Klaus bit back his instincts. A white oak stake in existence was a great threat to him, to his family. It was only natural for him to want to find it and destroy. But he could trust Bonnie. He could trust Bonnie, but could he trust the others? Was it worth the risk? To be rid of Mikael, and to have Bonnie alive and in his arms afterwards – would he risk their plan going awry and being attacked himself? Yes, he thought definitively. Yes, he would surely and gladly die in pursuit of such a long-awaited dream.

"It cannot be Damon, surely. Any vampire who kills an Original with a white oak stake will, himself, die."

"It's not Damon."

"It can't be that Professor," Klaus' voice dripped with disdain. Professor of the Occult... Bonnie could learn more about the Occult in one night in bed with him than in a semester of classes with him. And, the homework would be much more enjoyable.

"It's me."

"You're going to stake Mikael?"

"I am going to paralyze him," Bonnie said, "Then I will levitate the stake into his heart. Simple. Clean. Easy."

Klaus was silent for a moment, thinking the implications over. Bonnie was much more capable than the Professor, and she could be trusted to do the job (unlike Damon, whose life Klaus was much more willing to risk). She would not die from merely staking him, but... the idea of Bonnie, his Bonnie, all alone against that beast...

"I'll stake him."

"You?" Bonnie's brow furrowed. She frowned. "The whole point of this is to protect you." Her voice began to rise, sound shrill. Her arms twitched in his embrace. "You're going to ruin three years of planning..."

"You're going to ruin a thousand years of planning," Klaus said gently, deliberately lowering his lips to brush against her forehead.

"You can't bring up that thousand years bit every time..." Bonnie muttered under her breath. But she relaxed in his embrace and hooked her arms around his back. Her hands rose up to trace the dent of his spine under his shirt. To assure herself, he was there. He was real. He was really hers.

"You need me there, anyway..."

"I can channel you remotely," Bonnie chirped up, as if remembering something she had forgotten to mention. "Amelia and I figured it out. I can channel you without being near to you. As long as you let the link exist and keep it open. I've closed my link to Amelia."

She could feel it shut strongly still, like a boarded up backdoor in the periphery of her mind. She tested it now, reaching out towards Amelia, and felt it holding strong still.

"Still," Klaus insisted, "That is a lot of magic for you to do." And a lot of evil for you to face. _Alone_. _Without me_.

"I can do it," Bonnie frowned. "I can kill him."

"I am not a little boy who needs to hide behind a woman's skirt..."

"Wow! Sexist, much?"

"I mean," he clarified, pulling away so he could meet her eyes, "this is my battle, and has been my battle, for centuries. You can't expect me to stay at home and twiddle my thumbs..."

"You can't expect _me_ to put you right in range of your worst enemy..."

"-while the love of my long, wretched life..."

"-after waiting all this time for you, you expect me to just..."

"faces death on my behalf!"

"watch you die in front of me?"

They blinked at each other for a long, heated moment. Her cheeks are flushed, his jaw is clenching. Neither has heard the other, but neither dares to bark out the "what!?" that circles angrily on their tongues.

Instead: "Fine," Bonnie said, "You may be present."

"And?" Klaus' voice calmed, his smile smug. He brushed a lip lazily against her lips.

"I shall grant you," she deadpanned in return, "the unbelievably generous wish of watching me perform powerful Bennett magic."

Klaus' smug smile grew in amusement. Bonnie nipped at his finger. He lets her. "You paralyze him. I'll stake him."

Bonnie let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

"We're a team," he reminded her, leaning forward to place a kiss on her ever soft, silky lips. He brushed them once more because, it's too tempting, and why not?

"We're a team," Bonnie agreed. She felt her body relax with her agreement. A weight was lifted, somehow. Having Klaus here, having him share in the burden and the risk, was somehow comforting. Too long, she had been doing it alone – saving the town, saving Elena. He wouldn't let her save him alone, put herself at risk _alone_. She was his, and though he would grant her any request, he would not – could not – let her give her fragile, short, mortal life for his undeserving one.

He held her close for a long moment. They stood in the room, smelling of sage, holding and being held, until a crash and an exclamation of _ouch!_ sounded from downstairs.

"Remind me again," Klaus said slowly, his voice tickling the tips of her ears, "If we don't need Amelia anymore... why is she here?"

"I'm the only witch she knows," Bonnie said, her lips brushing the skin at his neck as she spoke. "I'm the only one who can teach her to channel her magic." She smiled against his skin, pausing to take a deep breath and place a tender kiss where his pulse used to beat. "Plus, I kind of like her."

Klaus couldn't help the wide smile that pulled at his lips. "You always had a soft spot for hybrids."

"And you," Bonnie returned, "for witches."

**KB**

"So, your father is a wolf, and your mother is a witch?" Klaus said, walking through the woods with the little girl beside him, her hair pulled into two puffy, curly buns on either side of her head. She munched happily on a chocolate bar as they walked, occasionally pausing so Klaus could explain to her the herbs of the forest that a werewolf should know. Bonnie had made her way to the university campus for practice, and Klaus had decided to take the little wolf on a stroll out in the open woods, where they both belonged.

"Yup," she said.

"And they have..." he paused, struggling for words. _Died? Been killed? _"...passed away?"

"Yup."

"So, you're all alone," Klaus concluded.

"Yup."

"...Is that all you can say?"

"..."

"..."

"Yup."

**KB**

"There's been a slight change of plans," Bonnie said, from her spot on the couch across the room.

Professor Shane had been marking papers for the past hour, on top of a peculiar writing desk that happened to be a paralyzed Salvatore vampire in mid-lunge, fangs exposed as he pretended/prepared to attack Bonnie. She had frozen him, and kept him frozen, for going on sixty minutes now. Shane looked up at her from above his reading glasses, "You are channeling Klaus."

"Well, yes..."

"That is not much of a surprise," Shane smiled softly.

Bonnie frowned. "Because we are in love?"

Shane cleared his throat. "No. Because Mikael nears."

"_What_?" Bonnie couldn't hide the dry, creeping fear that coated her words. "I have not felt a change in the supernatural presence in Mystic Falls."

"He has not come so far, yet," Shane says. "It seems he may be paying his other children visits first. A witch in Fell's Church felt the shift first. Yesterday."

"Rebekah," Bonnie said with stark realization. The Original had left town after giving up hope for her brother's return. She would search for him, she had said. But after a quick tour of his favorite haunts, she ended up as close to Mystic Falls as she could comfortably make herself without missing him. Fell's Church.

"If he is visiting Rebekah," Shane concluded, "he must be seeking Klaus. She was the closest to Klaus, and is the most likely to know his whereabouts."

"Except she doesn't know his whereabouts," Bonnie said, realization hitting her like a ton of bricks: "But she knows who might. _Me_."

"Yes," Shane nodded in that professorial way he had. "And with you channeling Klaus remotely, drawing his power out over large areas of land, it will be easier to track and trace him."

"Mikael will find him."

"No, Mikael will follow the trail of his power."

"And he will find," Bonnie gulped slowly, bracing herself for what she had prepared for, for months: "_Me._"

As she exhaled the last word, her thoughts were punctuated by Damon's rapid descent to the ground.

Shane's essays went flying.

Damon, not one to be silent for so long, quickly made use of the feeling in his tongue by snapping, before he stood: "A little warning next time, witchy,"

But Bonnie was choking on that last word, still. Of all the plots and planning quickly becoming a reality she had once thought she would never see.

_Me_. _Mikael is coming for me._

**KB**

What bothered Klaus was not that Amelia was a rarity – a hybrid, a witch and a werewolf at once.

It didn't even bother him that she was the same hue as Bonnie was – that, when the little one sat on his lover's lap, she almost looked like she belonged there. When she fell asleep in Bonnie's arms, and she tucked her in, the domestic calm surprised him by pinching at his heart. Something he could never give Bonnie. A family. And she had built him one anyway, of sorts, even if it was as temporary and fragile as their make-believe mortal life together. It was something.

What bothered him was that she was a wolf at all.

When Klaus discovered his werewolf side many, many centuries ago, he had sought out answers as to why he had never changed. Why had he never transformed with the others? What was it about him, that was so unworthy, of the shift?

The answer had come, welcome and unwelcome. For it was that answer that had made him suspicious of his mother's magic ways.

_Kill someone_, one of the wolves had told him. _You cannot turn until you have taken a life. Woken the wolf._

_Do you know what it would do to her to wake up somewhere strange, covered in some poor person's blood_, Bonnie had said.

But hadn't she realized – Amelia had already taken a life. Amelia, this clever little girl, had killed.

"What's this one?" Amelia's voice broke his thoughts. She peered down at a white flower with a bursting yellow center. She leaned forward to sniff it, careful not to break its stem.

"That," Klaus leaned forward beside her, "Is called bloodroot. It blooms in the spring, and is excellent for healing." He reached out to pluck it, but she batted his hand away from the blossom. "Wolves eat it when they are hurting, it fuels the healing process."

"Witches use it, too," Amelia said, startling herself with the knowledge. "I think I saw it before, when I was little."

"Yes," Klaus smiled at her. "Witches use it in healing potions."

She stared at it a little longer, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "Maybe we should take some for Bonnie," she finally concluded. "She may need some healing potions soon."

Klaus watched, a bit startled, as she started collecting the blossoms in her hands.

"How much has Bonnie told you," he asked, "about Mikael?"

"Mikael is evil," Amelia said, decidedly. "He wants to hurt Klaus. If Klaus is hurt, Bonnie is really sad. I have to help her stop Mikael."

"What else do you know, about Mikael?" Klaus pushed. _That he's an Original? That he is almost impossible to defeat? That I have been running from him for several centuries and a young witch is unlikely to be able to take him down on her own... That he may kill them all?_

"That he's the bad guy," Amelia said.

Klaus nodded.

"Oh, yeah, and your dad."

Klaus winced.

"You're lucky you have a dad," Amelia pointed out matter-of-factly, and Klaus barely restrained himself from repeating her words in kind. Like a bratty child.

"Won't be lucky for long."

"You must have been pretty bad if your dad wants to kill you."

Klaus almost choked on his own spit. "I am. Well, I was."

"But Bonnie seems to think you're okay," Amelia's nose scrunched up, "And she's _really_ judgy."

"Is she?"

"Uncle Damon says so."

Klaus cringed.

"But he lies a lot." Amelia frowned. "Anyway, if you're good enough for Bonnie, you're good enough for me."

"Likewise." Klaus said.

"But if you hurt her..." Amelia cut her eyes at him, "I'll witchy juju your brain."

"Ok, no more uncle Damon for you..."

"But seriously," Amelia said, stopping in her tracks. She turned to face him, crossing her arms. "If you hurt Bonnie, I'll never, _never_, _never_ forgive you."

"Are you-"

"I'm serious," Amelia said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'll dessicate you."

Klaus bit back his grin. "I shall heed your warning then, young witch."

"You better!" She turned, her chin high in the air. Leading the way, Klaus followed behind her, hands linked behind his back.

"Mikael..."

"I won't let him," Klaus interrupted her: "I won't let him hurt her."

They continued in silence for a long time after that. It wasn't until deep into the woods, surrounded by the scent of the forest, that Amelia spoke again. There was something about it – the woods, the greenery, the power of nature – that soothed and strengthened her. Something that called to her, something that she missed without realizing it.

"I'm sorry you're going to be an orphan," she said, turning her gaze up from the ground for a moment to offer him a side smile.

"Thank you," Klaus returned cautiously.

"It's not so bad," she said, shrugging off her own orphan status, "When Bonnie's around."

"You're right," Klaus smiled, "It's not."

**KB**

Bonnie's nose was bleeding for the first time since Klaus had awoken. Her hands hovered over a map of the nearby towns. A vampire and professor stood on either side of her. They all stared intently at the map, and at the spots where her blood fell and stained the paper.

Bonnie's chanting escaped a tense jaw, her voice strained and soft, barely rasping above a whisper.

She was trying to find Mikael. But just as when he had been desiccated, he was almost impossible to track. Even more, she refused to pull on Klaus' power. With Mikael so close, who knows what pulling on his power could do? Maybe he was only hours – or minutes – away from finding them? And she couldn't kill him without Klaus there... _Damon would die, Shane isn't strong enough_... It could only be her or Klaus, and he was so far... but...

The blood seeped into the map, stretching out to form an ever thinner line. It stretched slowly across the paper from Florida, at the bottom of the map, and further north... but it barely cleared the state before coming to a stop.

Bonnie collapsed on the chair in frustration with a tired "ugh!"

"Are you sure you can do this?" Shane cautioned: "You shouldn't exhaust your powers."

"We need to know where he is," Bonnie's voice was shrill with anger and frustration.

Damon's voice was grim: "Then you know what you have to do." His face was riddled with both concern and determination. Her green eyes met his blue ones, and, if she had ever doubted it before, she was certain now. He got it. He knew what it meant, to be the only one, willing to do the unthinkable to protect the one he loved.

"Channel him," Damon clarified, with a sharp nod. She found herself nodding along as well.

"Mikael will find us faster," her voice was hushed but calculating.

"Mikael will find you anyway." Damon reasoned, "Find him first."

"Alright," Bonnie nodded again. She closed her eyes, and reached into where she stored Klaus' door. The centre of her heart.

It was a tall, black, shiny door that protruded from the wall. Like a standing coffin. Through the brambles in the outside, the tangled weeds and thorns, and into the depths of the foggy darkness of her heart, she trod. Her feet seemed to sink in the marsh, all of the unloved and hidden bits. All of the hurt. She pushed past it. With her arms extended above the map, her hands dangling above it as she heard her blood, in the real world, drip from her nose and over her lips to land on the paper, she searched through the darkness to Klaus' door.

It was bright and warm. The light was a pure, cascading white behind that door. The swamp turned to meadow, the dark fog to low-hanging, misty clouds. The tangled brambles were replaced with daisies.

She was closer to the link. She felt it. She was going to do more than charge herself up on him – she was going to channel him, pull on the Original wolf inside of him. She was going to open a link that would be so, so difficult to close. That would hurt to close.

She found the door at last, and heard – as if from a distant – the triumphant sounds of Damon and Shane's voices. As if they knew, that she was opening it.

_Klaus will not be expecting it_, she realized. They had not spoken of a when or how, she would have to reach out and channel him. The link between them had formed a long time ago, but she had hidden it deep inside of her, protected it from the world with a vicious exterior. No one could touch or take this part of her.

Except Mikael.

He could kill Klaus.

Bonnie opened Klaus' door and was blown back by the pure, radiant light that flowed out of it. She basked in it, bathed in its warmth. It smelled of the earth, of the woods. She walked through the door and found herself engulfed in the lovely light of him, trailing the essence of his power through her fingers.

She watched – could _feel_ – as his power entwined with hers, creeping out and reaching out into the far corners of her being.

A part of her shot up warning bells – _he is a monster, he must be killed_ – the old warnings of the old witches must still linger on her, though they have long gone. But she ignored them.

A part of her was frightened – careful, too much and Mikael will find him – _find you_. Are you ready to die?

Yes, Bonnie thought with certainty. It had taken her many years to reach that point, but there she was, at last. She was willing to die for someone. Willing to give her life, freely, without fear, without regret, if it meant protecting the people she loved. The person she loved.

Calm settled over her as she opened her eyes.

Damon was looking up at her, entranced by her mouth which, she quickly discovered, was covered in her own blood. She wiped it away, hastily.

Shane was focused intently on the map, covered in Bonnie's blood, twining pathways through the Southern United States until staining a wide circumference around Fell's Church.

Bonnie let out a sigh of relief, that Mikael was still a few towns away – when Shane held up a finger. Frowning, she looked at the map, leaning down to follow where Shane pointed.

And then she saw it. A thin line, moving slowly, but a line nonetheless.

Heading rapidly to Mystic Falls.

**KB**

Bonnie wasn't home yet when Amelia began yawning. Klaus tested his new connection to the witch, closing his eyes and feeling the pure, good light of her power seeping over him. Calming him. She was safe, he knew without knowing, from feeling her strength on the other side.

So, Klaus tucked Amelia in and let her recite the story in her mother's grimoire again.

"I had fun today," he told her. _Fun_. A strange word, and yet so suiting. There was something oddly right about this young girl, and her new found place in his life.

"Me too," Amelia said, though she averted her eyes.

When she remained silent, he took it as his cue to go. He headed to the door, had his hand on the light, when she called him back.

"Klaus," Amelia whispered.

"Amelia..." Klaus said in the same tone, returning to his seat on the wooden chair by her bedside.

She exhaled loudly.

"What is it?" Klaus asked gently, startled by the uncertainty in the usually confident young girl's eyes.

"I'm ready," Amelia said. She peered up at him from under the covers, seeming so small and so strong at once as she set her jaw and gripped the edge of the blankets tightly in her hands. "I'll tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"The second part," Amelia said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Of the story."

"The wolf and the witch?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded. He paused, as if waiting for her to continue. She opened her mouth to begin, but hesitated, and said instead: "I haven't told anyone. Not even Bonnie!"

"I am honored," Klaus said gallantly.

"You can't tell anyone," Amelia said, chewing on her lip. "Promise."

"I promise."

"They'll hate me," Amelia said, her blue eyes starting to tremble. He blinked at her in the darkness of the room and realized, dumbly, that she was on the verge of tears. "They'll hate me if they know."

"No one can hate you." Klaus said, resting his large hand on her smaller one. "I won't let them."

"I guess if you told them not to," Amelia calmly reasoned, "They'd be too scared to."

Klaus grinned a toothy, wolfy grin, "Now, let's begin. Once upon a time..."

"Once upon a time," Amelia said rapidly. "There was a wolf who married a witch."

A deep breath.

"They lived in a house in a small town in the middle of the woods. There were no roads leading towards the house. No one came to visit them. They got everything they needed from the herbs of the forest... like, bloodroot."

She paused for Klaus' pleased smile and was not disappointed.

"And witch's hazel," Amelia was sure to add Bonnie's favorite, too. "Anyway, one day they were very lonely and decided to have a baby." She smiled softly. "Me."

"They were very lucky," Klaus said, _to have a child. A witch and a werewolf._ But quickly, he amended, "To have _you_."

"Not that lucky," Amelia sighed a sigh too deep, and too sad for a small child. She averted her eyes. "I don't really remember," her voice faltered, "what happened. But I know I did it. And I turned right after."

"Who?" Klaus asked, because what else was there to ask.

"I killed them," Amelia said, meeting his eyes again. He was stunned to imagine his own, desperate blue eyes staring back up at him, "I killed my own parents." She sobbed, though her eyes still refused to drop any tears: "I'm a monster!"

"Amelia," Klaus said sternly, reaching out to cradle her chin between his finger and thumb. He waited until she was look at him before he spoke: "You are not a monster."

"I am," Amelia said. Then, more hushed: "I must be."

"When you're a parent," Klaus said, struggling to find the right words. What would Bonnie say? "You would give your life for the person you love. And if you had to choose, between hurting them or yourself, you would never choose to hurt them."

"But I hurt them," Amelia said.

"You're a child," Klaus said again, "It's your parent's job to protect you over themselves. They were strong," Klaus insisted, running his hand over her forehead to smooth the hair from her face. "A witch and a werewolf? They could have saved themselves, if they wanted."

"It was my magic," Amelia explained. "I got so angry, and I don't remember exactly what happened... but when I woke up, it was night time... And it was a full moon... It all happened so fast."

_Her wolf protected her_, Klaus realized. It woke, and it protected her from the trauma of seeing her parents dead. Something, perhaps, his own wolf would have done for him had it not been trapped and pacing for centuries, waiting to break free.

It was no coincidence, he realized with shocking clarity, that mere months after his wolf fully awoke, he found himself feeling the first inklings of love.

"They could have stopped you," Klaus said again, "But if they did, it would have hurt you. They know you didn't mean it," Amelia's eyes found and clung to his, "They love you, still."

A small sob escaped Amelia's throat, but she refused to cry out as hot tears fell down her cheeks. She reached up suddenly and locked her arms around Klaus' neck.

"You shouldn't do it," Amelia said softly.

He could feel the little girl's frown against him, even as her arms tightened. He let his own arm wrap loosely around her and rest on her back. "Mikael is your dad."

"My parents," Klaus frowned, struggling to find the right words. "Are not like yours. Your parents wanted to protect you. Mine want to hurt me."

She was silent.

"And Bonnie."

She sniffled at that. "It's hard," she said at last, "Being a hybrid."

"Yes, it is."

**KB**

That evening, Bonnie lay naked wrapped up in Klaus' arms, inhaling from his skin the warm, earthy scent of the woods. The rain was pouring outside and Amelia was fast asleep. Humming with the afterglow of slow, torturous love making, Bonnie's magic was itching in her skin, dying to burst out. But with Mikael a breath away, she didn't dare risk it.

"I felt it," Klaus whispered against her hair. His eyes closed, he luxuriated in the feel of her. His heart, for the first time in a long time, was full. "When you opened the door." He paused to inhale her, let his tongue slip out to lick a trail up the back of her sensitive ear. "You're so entwined in my power, you even smell like me."

Bonnie laughed lightly as his hand settled on her breast, knowing that he was revelling in the beating of her heart. "Your power is a lot like you."

"Oh?" Klaus' brows lifted with the teasing in his voice. "Devastatingly handsome?"

Bonnie smiled, "Possessive. It probably wouldn't let me go if I tried."

"Don't try," Klaus said, settling in more comfortably behind her. "Now, we really are one. This way, I can protect you even when I'm not around."

Bonnie scoffed, "So you're going to take credit for my magic now, then?"

Klaus smiled against her skin, his voice still teasing: "_Never_."

Bonnie laughed, turning in his arms to face him. She pressed a kiss against his lips. "I take your power, you take my blood. We're like a perfect circuit."

Klaus pulled her in for another, longer kiss. This, feeling connected to her in his heart, his body, and now, through the power and strength of his wolf – was almost too much to ask for.

It was almost _too_ good.

"Tell me again," Klaus' voice darkened.

Bonnie cleared her throat: "I'm going to feed off your power. Paralyze him the instant he appears. You will stake him." She buried her face in his neck, to avoid meeting his eyes.

Mikael was close. So close.

But she couldn't tell him. Not yet. Not when they were so happy, and Amelia would be turning soon.

Maybe he wouldn't show up until after the full moon. The full moon strengthened Klaus. Mikael must know that – he wouldn't be s dumb as to attack then, would he?

And besides, she could always revert to her original plan if he caught them unawares... Paralyze Mikael. Levitate the stake right into his heart.

"He won't get away," Bonnie promised. "I'll find a way."

She took a deep breath of his scent, twisted her fingers into his hair.

"I'll take Amelia home tomorrow," Klaus said, "I'm enjoying spending time with her."

"You two are getting along quite well."

"She reminds me of another fiery witch I know," Klaus said, nipping at her collarbone.

"She reminds me of you," Bonnie said, enjoying the sensation of Klaus' wide grin as it grazed her skin.

_Just one more day_, Bonnie begged as she nuzzled closer into his embrace. _I'll tell him tomorrow._

_Just one more day of bliss._

**KB**

Klaus didn't take Amelia home. She packed her bag – with clothes and snacks – and kept the secret, as he told her too, and didn't even crack a smile (what a poker face!) when they waved goodbye to Bonnie on the evening of the full moon.

Instead, he took her deeper into the woods. They found a secluded spot in the middle of the woods and began to plan their camping trip. Klaus stashed the backpack up in a tree, to be retrieved in the morning. Then they built a small fire. And roasted marshmallows (not his idea).

His chest felt strangely full and large at the thought of teaching the rambunctious kid his secrets and methods. To hunt, to track, to frolic in the forest. He would teach her to control the wolf. Like he was handing something down, like he was creating... a pack.

But when the sun disappeared and the moon began to rise and the fire was mere embers, and they were sitting in the dark, Amelia's heart began to thump.

"You won't leave me, right?" She asked for the fifth time. "I've never turned in the open, before."

"Are you scared?" he asked, patting her head soothingly with his larger hands. Her sharp tongue and the power of her hybrid nature made it easy to forget just how young, and small, she was.

"It hurts," Amelia made a face, looking up at him.

"You will grow accustomed to it."

"_Never_," Amelia shook her head. "I hate it."

"You should not hate who you are, little one." Klaus said.

Amelia frowned. "It's exhausting. My wolf fights against the chains every time it turns. I'm so tired in the morning..." she averted her eyes now.

"You will grow accustomed to the turning," Klaus promised her. He lowered his voice, and lowered to his haunches so he could speak to her eye-to-eye, wolf-to-wolf. "In fact, I know of some wolves who turn over and over and over again just to get used to the pain."

Amelia narrowed her eyes at him. "They sound stupid."

"They're brave," Klaus admitted.

"Just..." Amelia turned her face from his stubbornly, "Don't leave me, okay?"

"I won't," Klaus promised. "I give you my word."

"Okay," Amelia let out a loud exhale, and Klaus almost smiled at the pensive expression that distorted her features. "Okay, I'll do it. I have to be stronger as a wolf, so I can help Bonnie kill Mikael." She turned to him now, conspiracy rich behind blue eyes that were just beginning to yellow. "She's going to paralyze him, you know."

"How much of this plan do you know?" Klaus asked, unable to hide his amusement at the young wolf's quick mind. The moon was rising in the sky. Soon, soon. She would turn, out in the open, in the heart of the woods.

"Lots," Amelia said smugly. "She's going to paralyze him, and then she's going to stake him with the white oak stake he was going to use against you."

"That's..." Klaus stilled at her words. He blinked rapidly at the young girl as her features shifted from smug to pained. She fell to her knees before him, letting out a sharp scream of pain.

Klaus fell to his knees beside her, rubbing her back. She broke a sweat, but her panting stopped. Her jaw was clenched. She looked up at him.

He didn't want to... he shouldn't... but he had to, he had to know: "What stake? Amelia, what stake is she going to use?"

"Ugh," Amelia cried as another, fresh whip of pain took over her. Her hands shifted from human to wolf and back again before her eyes. She yelped out, more in fear and surprise, than in pain. Even though the wolf in her was pleased, the witch in her was frightened by this element of nature she could not control.

"What stake?" Klaus bellowed at her. He had her by the shoulders now. "Bonnie has her own white oak stake. Why does she need Mikael's?"

"She doesn't," Amelia managed to get out just before another shudder took her over. Her teeth had changed, her eyes wide and yellow when she looked up at him. She forced the words out, just before the change made it impossible for her to do anything but growl:

"She doesn't have a stake. She needs Mikael's stake."

"And if he doesn't bring one?" Klaus' voice was frantic now as the young witch screamed in completion of the transition.

"And if he doesn't have one?" Klaus screamed again, but no one could answer him for Amelia had completed her transition. She growled before him, eyeing him with suspicion, as she backed away cautiously.

But it didn't matter, because Klaus already knew the answer.

_He won't get away_, Bonnie had promised him. _I will find a way._

She was going to use her magic. If he didn't bring the stake with him, she was going to kill him with magic. With the magic of her Bennett line, enhanced by channelling her hybrid lover.

She was going to kill Mikael, and in doing so, she was going to kill herself.

And, like on cue, there it was: she was channeling him, and channeling him hard.

_Mikael_, Klaus growled.

_Bonnie was going to die_.

Klaus' eyes flashed yellow, and he felt the feral growl growing in himself. He was about to turn around, to head back to town to talk some sense into the impetuous witch, when from the corner of his eye, he saw the were-pup.

Saw her back away from him.

He took a step towards her, "Now, Amelia..."

And she took off running. Into the woods. And through the woods, was the town. Mystic Falls.

_Do you know what it would do to her to wake up somewhere strange, covered in some poor person's blood?_

The second he heard Bonnie's voice ricochet in his mind was the second he knew he had no choice.

_You won't leave me, right?_

_Take care of her._

_I'm trusting you._

Amelia.

With a growl that echoed throughout the forest, Klaus transformed mid-lunge and took off after the young, feral werewolf.

Leaving Bonnie, his love, to face their enemy and confront her death.

**KB**

"Take care of her," Bonnie said, planting a kiss on Amelia's forehead, and Klaus' lips in turn. She raised a finger to Klaus, a teasing, crooked smile on her face and warned him: "I'm trusting you."

"I always keep my word," Klaus reminded her, a wicked glint behind his eyes.

Bonnie laughed, hitting him lightly. Amelia reached up to grab Klaus' hand, her backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Bye, Bonnie!" she said, but her eyes were glued to Klaus. "Come onnnnn, let's goooo!"

"You should," Bonnie said as Klaus raised a finger to his lips to tell Amelia to keep quiet. "The moon will be out soon, her family will be waiting for her."

"Alright," Klaus said, giving Bonnie a final peck before heading towards her car. "I'm going to be late tonight," he warned her, "Going to take a quick run afterwards."

"Just don't be too late," Bonnie said, her eyes meeting his meaningfully.

"I won't leave you for long," he promised. Mikael didn't seem to be making his move anytime soon. Bonnie didn't seem to know his whereabouts, and Klaus was certain Mikael would have made a move by now if he was actively hunting him. Perhaps the old man didn't even realize that Klaus was back yet. Perhaps they had years before they had to face them.

Either way, he could afford a night off taking a run in the moonlight.

Bonnie didn't argue as she watched Klaus and Amelia head out into the night. But as soon as the disappeared, her face fell. She clutched Klaus' wolf necklace tightly in her fist. She hadn't felt things change – hadn't felt the arrival of a new, powerful supernatural creature. But that didn't mean much. After all, he could have had witches helping him.

_He's setting nature aright_, the witch's voices said. They had become more vocal since she opened the link to Klaus. Like they had planted themselves in her brain, and waited for this moment.

To throw her off. To force her to abandon him. To watch him die.

She gritted her teeth against their warnings.

_I borrowed your powers once_, she told them, _that doesn't mean you can haunt me forever_.

_This is your last chance, Bonnie_.

_Kill him._

_Klaus has to die_.

"Mikael," she answered them out loud, "Mikael has to die."

Bonnie spent the evening pouring over grimoires. Time flew. It wasn't until three hours later that she was awoken from her studious trance with the ringing of the phone.

"Hello?" Bonnie answered, and heard Amelia's pack on the other side.

"What do you mean she's not back yet?" Bonnie's voice was shrill. "Klaus took her back hours ago!"

"Lock yourselves up. I'll find her. She can change in my house. She won't hurt me," Bonnie rattled the words out without thinking. Her mind was elsewhere.

Her mind was on Amelia. With Klaus.

_Mikael_, she thought, the cold fingers of panic reaching up to clutch at her heart.

What if Mikael found them on their way to Amelia's home? What if he attacked them? What if they were both dead, or dying?

She reached out for Klaus' door, and found it strong and open, as she grabbed her coat and slipped her shoes on. Where could they be? Where? She could try a locator spell.

Bonnie's mind rushed with her options for finding them when she threw the door open, ready to step out, and stopped cold in her tracks.

Because there he was.

Death at her doorstep.

"Good evening, Bonnie Bennett."

"Good evening," she swallowed loudly. "Mikael."


	25. A Moment Like This

**AN: I hope you enjoy! This is just the first part, so do not be discouraged at the end! I don't want to leave a big cliffhanger after what TVD did to our BonBon so just know that there's more to come!**

_**A Moment Like This**_

Moments. Life was made of a series of moments, stacked like a deck of cards, and dealt with like premeditation.

Running through the woods, Klaus knew his deck was one card short. He was heading for a trap. But he couldn't stop it.

Because Klaus had watched Henrik die.

And he had watched his parents turn from him: one, after the other.

And he had watched his siblings turn from him – betray him: one, after the other.

They lay spread out before his mind's eyes, like Tarot. Already dealt, already dictating a future fast approaching. His paws hit the ground with such force, he was certain the earth would quake with memory of his presence. The dust and dirt whipped up into the air around him, but all he saw was clear.

The Hangman's Noose. The Phoenician Sailor.

This was it.

The End.

Klaus ran faster.

**KB**

Moments of truth.

Lined up like a set of dominoes, waiting, waiting, _waiting_ to be knocked over until nothing stood at all. Things like this, precarious things, _delicate_ things – they could never last.

Bonnie should have known better.

"Bonnie Bennett," Mikael drew out her name again with a familiarity that turned her stomach with disgust. He smiled.

Bonnie squared her feet and straightened her shoulders as she stared him down. She felt her purse slide from her shoulder to hit the ground, but made no move to stop it.

_Klaus_, she thought, and immediately felt her magic surging up in her palms. Charging her up.

"We've been expecting you," Bonnie said.

Mikael's smile faltered for but a second. "I do hope you will forgive my late arrival," he said, "As I did have to bide my time perfectly."

Bonnie frowned. In her mind, she focused on Klaus. She saw him in his wolf form, running freely in the moonlight. Free and alive. Bonnie crossed her arms self-consciously, as if Mikael could see the arsenal she was preparing to launch his way.

"Waiting for your powers to wear down, waiting for Niklaus to awaken…" Mikael said, noting the surprise in Bonnie's eyes.

"You-"

"Knew where he was all this time," Mikael said the last words as if he was speaking to a child. "I have been hunting him for centuries, child. You really thought a little witch's spell could stop me? You should have let him leave when he gave you the option."

Bonnie gaped, her fists clenching and unclenching. She could feel the magic tightening and heating in her fingers. Klaus wasn't close enough for her to kill Mikael. She needed more power to deliver the lethal blow. But she could wound him. She could incapacitate him and keep him down until…

"Stop now, Bonnie Bennett," Mikael said, suddenly serious. "And I will spare you, and the little one." A chill shot down Bonnie's spine. "Amelia, is it? Cozy little family you've accumulated here."

She clenched her teeth. "Leave Amelia out of this."

"You're the one that brought her in," Mikael reminded her.

Bonnie licked her lips. _Selfish_. She had become selfish and foolish in her love of Klaus. "Fine," she conceded. "Amelia is off limits.

Mikael laughed pleasantly at that. "I know that. I have made sure of that."

The alarm on Bonnie's face only deepened Mikael's laughter. He clapped his hands together gleefully, "Ahh, Mystic Falls. Lovely gathering of pawns just waiting for me to use."

Bonnie arched a brow. Any second now. She could feel it. Klaus was getting further, but she was pooling his energy. Storing his power. Waiting, waiting, for the right second…

"Well now that you're here," Bonnie smiled sweetly, "The festivities can begin."

"Oh, yes," Mikael said, noting how Bonnie's arms slipped free from being wrapped tightly around her body. Her fingers were itching to turn up, to aim at him. "I almost forgot," Mikael said, his eyes meeting Bonnie's with gravity at last. He whistled long and low from the side of his mouth. He took a step to the side.

And there, on her front porch, Mikael revealed his ace card.

A lank, brunette vampire with dead, compelled eyes stumbled forward.

Bonnie gasped.

"Elena."

"And he who controls the queen," Mikael said ominously, "Controls the game."

**KB**

Klaus was already mid-lunge through the forest when he saw her.

Amelia, little husky pup-of-a-wolf, suspended in mid-air in a net of ropes. She scratched against the ropes but soon retreated to the corner. They were doused in wolf's bane. Which could only mean… _vampire_.

Damon flapped his crisp, black wings from his position high up in the tree. At the sight, Klaus landed face first in the dirt, a growling mess as he shook his fur, and prepared to pounce.

The crow blinked at him, and he growled in response, deep in his throat.

As if in mutual agreement, they both transformed. Damon, taking his form fully clothed. And Klaus, proudly, naked.

"Let her out."

Damon averted his eyes, reaching up into the branches and pulling down a pair of jeans and a bottle of water. He tossed both at the hybrid who made no attempt to catch them. Instead, he merely side-stepped the projectiles and repeated: "Let Amelia go."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Put some pants on before you scar the kid."

As if realizing he was nude, Klaus bit out a terse word before tugging the jeans on quickly. When he looked up, Damon was frowning at the young wolf, and muttering something Klaus could only conclude was meant to pass for _soothing_ to the whimpering pup.

"You're hurting her."

"It's for her own good," Damon said, without meeting the hybrid's eyes. He continued to look at Amelia. "You know I've got nothing against you, pup. Let's just keep the bites to ourselves, okay?" He smiled at her then, like they were sharing an inside joke.

Klaus bristled at the sight.

"I told Bonnie," Damon's lips twisted like he regretted having to give up the words, "If it came down to it, I would pick her over you."

"Is that what you're doing?" Klaus barked at the vampire, who had the decency to flinch at his words. "Mikael is there now."

Klaus paused.

Except, he didn't _feel_ anything. He didn't feel Bonnie pulling on him. Maybe she was pulling from Amelia? But when Klaus glanced up at the young wolf, she made no sign that her power was being borrowed. _Something was wrong. _"She's facing him alone."

"For no reason," Damon added, jumping down at vampire speed from his position on the tree.

"Exactly," Klaus bit out, like he was talking to an idiot. "Because you're keeping me here by holding Amelia hostage."

"Because _you_ dragged her into a fight that isn't hers." Damon raised his voice over Klaus as he withdrew a vial from his back pocket. A vial of blue liquid that he held up to the light as he swaggered towards the hybrid.

Klaus' lips pulled tightly together as he examined the vampire. His ice blue eyes were steadier than he had ever seen them. Wide, but determined. His brows were drawn and his chin set. Klaus imagined, with his eyes yellow and his werewolf fangs ready to erupt, Damon appeared the calmer of the two.

"It will weaken you," Damon explained. "It was cursed by Ayanna to incapacitate an Original."

Klaus growled.

"He wanted me to get Bonnie to drink it, knowing you would _feed_ on her," Damon's stomach turned at the thought. Little Bonnie Bennett, chew toy for this fool. "But I spared her that."

The entire world, to Klaus, was bathed in amber. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a snarl sounded.

"Mikael will let Bonnie go," Damon recited the deal he made only an hour before, when Mikael showed up with Elena on his doorstep. A compelled Elena. An Elena he compelled to return to Stefan. "If I bring him you, instead."

_"I'll let Stefan live," Klaus corrected, "when you bring me Bonnie Bennett."_

Like father, like son.

"I gave her to you once," Damon said quietly, depositing it in the hybrid's hands quickly. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away in faux-nonchalance. "I hope I made the right decision."

Klaus' eyes met Damon's.

The hybrid closed him clumsy fist over the vial. He raised it to the moonlight, watched it shimmer and glow. For all he knew, this would be his death. Who was to say Ayanna didn't have a secret failsafe? That Esther had not concocted some last resort to kill him?

Klaus could feel the young vampire's eyes on him. Waiting. He could feel Amelia's eyes on his. Afraid.

What he couldn't feel was Bonnie. Couldn't feel her channeling him. Couldn't feel her warmth, her goodness, her love… Couldn't feel her. Couldn't live without her. Couldn't do anything else but, raise the vial to his lips and swallow.

It burned all the way down. But he drank it. Licked the liquid from his lips, and dashed the vial to the ground.

The last thing he saw, before the world spun and his head hit the ground, was the look in the vampire's eyes.

A thank you.

**KB**

"Let her go," Bonnie demanded again, pausing to swipe a stream of blood from pooling in her cupid's bow. The second she saw Elena, she sent the young vampire flying against a tree. It took one hand to trap her and keep her safe, and one to send the rest of her energy pouring into Mikael.

"Such lengths," Mikael grunted, but that stupid smile was still there, "You go to for one who would never accept you."

"Shut up," Bonnie grunted. She dropped the arm that was holding Elena in place, satisfied that the barrier spell was strong enough to keep the baby vampire from harm's way. Her green eyes watered, but still she turned both palms outwards to Mikael. He flinched. His legs shook. He almost fell to his knees.

But it wasn't enough.

But she couldn't pull on Klaus. He would know she was in trouble. He would come home. And Mikael would kill him.

"Klaus _loves _me," Bonnie muttered, spitting blood from her mouth. With a bellow, she renewed her efforts and aimed at Mikael, watching him light up.

Mikael fell to his knees this time. All around him, the world lit up in lightening. He spared a glance at Elena who sat, like a broken rag doll, behind the barrier Bonnie had erected. He grunted, but refused to scream. He winked at the doppelganger.

"I meant…" he said weakly, his voice low against the sound of Bonnie's heroic grunts as he power pulled on her life force, "_her_."

Bonnie fell to her knees. The power rushed out of her like she had been punched in the gut. Her fingers dug into the dirt as she attempted to draw from the earth. But it rejected her. Didn't want her. _Unnatural_.

"You think she would have _ever_ accepted the abomination you've become?" Mikael took advantage of her moment of weakness. As she recharged, he distracted himself from the healing of his cracked bones by taunting the pretty young thing. "I _made_ her accept you."

"No…"

"I compelled her," Mikael smiled in that aloof way that reminded her of Elijah. Of kindness when it was only cruelty. "To warn you of my coming when she saw how close you were."

_"I wasn't going to say anything," Elena said suddenly. "But now that you're with Klaus..."_

"No!"

"Yes!" Mikael sang out. He felt his ankles click back into place. He moved to stand, but still stumbled. His bones may be healing, but she was literally pulverizing them, and the pain was debilitating. "She came to me to make a deal. Knowing… that you felt _something_ for him." Mikael imitated Elena's voice: " 'He's gotten to Bonnie,' she told me. 'He's tricked her, and I have to save her'."

"You're lying!" Bonnie screamed. She spared a look up at Mikael, letting go of the useless dirt in her hands. The world swam in blood.

Mikael laughed heartily at that. "You, my dear, _you_ are what I have waited centuries for! Don't you see, little witch? You're a weakness. You're his only weakness. You're the only thing he won't – can't – run from. You're going to deliver him right into my hands."

She ran the back of her hand against her face until it cleared. Her eyes were bleeding. Her nose was bleeding. She needed him. She needed Klaus.

"I couldn't do as Elena asked. I couldn't separate you two. Because I needed you, to help me kill him."

Bonnie rose as if possessed, "Over my dead body."

Bonnie raised her hands, palms out, and aimed straight at Mikael. She felt all of the power inside of her welling up and rising, like a roiling tide, boiling up and pouring from her hands. It tore from her – she felt the blood thick and wet on her face, pooling over her teeth as she cried out from the pain – but she didn't stop. In the back of her head, she thought of him. Her Klaus. Asleep, with his arms around her. Dancing with her at the ball. Kissing her sweetly at the Wickery Bridge. Her Klaus. She reached for him – reached for his power, reached for the promise of his strength…

And found nothing.

_Nothing._

"Klaus!" She screamed his name to high heavens, but there was nothing. She searched for him. With a spare thought, she called to him out in to the world. But found nothing.

Mikael was on his knees – or, rather, what was left of them. His legs were mush beneath him. His bones were dust, and his flesh was following suit – melting from him and into the earth. The grass turned brown and rotted around him. He was death, in every sense of the word.

Mikael's head lolled towards the vampire rag doll in the corner. A small smile tugged up on one side of his mouth as Bonnie cried out his son's name again.

He wasn't coming.

Mikael wanted to laugh.

How fitting. _Niklaus, selfish brat to the very end…_

"Now, Elena," Mikael managed to choke out.

Bonnie didn't hear him, her eyes widening and turning white. Black veins started to crawl and tremble around her hands. She was pulling her very life force from her veins and sending it towards him – this walking death, this damned apparition. She would kill him with her death.

With or without Klaus.

To her right, Elena heeded the call. She stood, slowly. So slowly, Bonnie didn't notice at first. Until her eyes shot open and she cried out. The familiar pained whines hit Bonnie's ears and she faltered, just for a moment, and turned her head to see her best friend's eyes snap open with awareness.

"Bonnie," Elena cried. She watched in horror as her own hands raised to her neck. And she dug her nails in. And dug. And screamed. And dug. Blood – everywhere, blood!

She was going to decapitate herself.

"STOP IT!" Bonnie screamed, feeling her rage fuel a final push towards Mikael. She would kill him. Klaus may have abandoned her, but she could at least save Elena! She could kill Mikael and end the compulsion... but she had to hurry, because, because… there went Elena's vocal chords…

"Klaus!" Bonnie called, her hands curling into fists, her nails ripping into her own flesh. She threw her head back and screamed: "KLAUS!"

The scream that sounded from the depths of her lungs was unlike anything he had ever heard. The world shimmered and shook around them.

She was going to kill Mikael. And save Klaus.

_Time to show the world what this love's made of._

Mikael's head lolled towards Bonnie's as the world shuddered around him. She couldn't be… she shouldn't be strong enough to destroy him. Not on her own… Yet, there was something about her. As the wind whipped up around her, her eyes white, her hair flying in a storm only she could feel… Her death would be something stunning. Something he was sorry his son had to miss.

**KB**

Bonnie's feet were not touching the ground when Damon's car pulled up.

Elena's eyes were wide and horrified as she tried to keep her own fingers from prying her head off. Mikael lay on the ground, a maniacal laughter dancing across his face, even as his skin was flayed from his body.

But Damon didn't notice any of it. It was just a moment, but in that small space between inhale and exhale – he saw her for perhaps the first time.

Bonnie Bennett, goddess. She was hovering above the Earth, her arms extended, hair a riot around her though the rest of the world was still. Her arms were wide and open, her hands aimed palm out towards the writhing Original. Her eyes were white, and blood spilled across her face, down the length of her neck to pool in the crevice of her heaving chest. She was stunning.

And the entire time, she was calling _his_ name.

_Klaus_. He heard it in the angry grunts that summoned her strength as she launched her power at him.

_Klaus_. He heard it in the snapping and cracking of the electricity that danced in the air around them.

_Klaus_.

_Klaus._

_Klaus._

The clock was ticking, and it was calling his name.

Even now, she would save him.

Damon got out of the car.

"Stop."

Bonnie paused, mid-chant, but her hands did not drop. Her lips still moved, but no sound came out. She blinked, but no irises appeared. Slowly, her head rolled up to see him.

"You want him?" Damon said, walking to the back seat. He flung the door open and the limp, lifeless body of the hybrid tumbled out. "You can have him."

**KB**

"Klaus." The air ruptured with the sound of his name, peeling from Bonnie's throat in the voice of a banshee. A voice she didn't recognize.

She ran to him. She cradled his face in her hands, and felt his head fall limp. She peeled back his eye lids and saw his blue eyes. Lifeless.

_Klaus_.

She ran her hands in circles over his skin. Pulled his hair. Cursed him and spat and fumed. Her whole body burned and trembled with the injustice of it all.

_Klaus. Was dead._

When she looked up again, Elena was gone. Damon was gone. The car remained, with Klaus' body pouring half in and half out – but the hostage and the deliverer had disappeared.

Bonnie spun on her heel back to Mikael. He had made it almost to his feet so she extended her hand, uttered a word in latin, and watched him struggle with the force of it all.

"That," Bonnie blinked her white, empty eyes at him. The blood that leaked from her nose bubbled and boiled as it fell down her cheek, drying quickly in a thin, dark crust that pooled in the corner of her lips. Her hair whipped up again around her, flailing like a sea of snakes. The sky boomed around them. "Is the weight of the world, Mikael. The weight of the _fucking world_."

Mikael grunted under the weight, but forced himself to stand as much as he could. Struggling, he bent his neck to peer up at her. His eyes were twinkling.

_Twinkling_. Bonnie flicked her wrist and sent him flying up into the sky. When he hit the ground again, the entire earth trembled. The ground seemed to swallow him up for an eternity before pushing him back up to lay in a pile of dirt and grime.

"You hurt him," she spat ferociously. As if Klaus was someone worth saving. As if he were someone worth knowing at all!

Mikael's lips turned up at one side. He felt her magic falter from the effort of keeping him down. It hesitated for but a second – but it was enough for him to regain his footing.

"You can't… kill me," Mikael reminded her, "Without killing yourself."

"There is no life without Klaus." Bonnie said, her eyes and expression so empty he thought she may have been talking to herself. The leaves on the ground around them started to tremble and shake.

"Your ancestors would disagree," Mikael raised his voice over the sudden gust of wind. "They won't let you do this!"

"No one can stop me."

"They can!"

Esther could. Ayanna could. Unlike Bonnie, Mikael had friends on the other side. Friends that would stop her from killing him before Klaus was dead. Friends that would punish her for getting in his way when she died for trying. Friends who had been waiting a long time – as long as he, for the peace that would come with Niklaus' death.

Bonnie watched as nature's debris began to float up from the ground. With a flick of the wrist, she started it spinning. A tornado. How fitting.

"The witches have no power over me," Bonnie reminded him. "They are all dead."

The leaves picked up speed.

"My mother is dead."

Dry and cracking, they seemed to have the weight of rocks as they whipped up into him. Mikael had to squint against the dryness of the air.

"My grandmother is dead."

Bonnie's other hand was spinning, too now. The cylinder was forming. She was going to take down the entire town, if that's what it took, to kill the beast.

"My love," Bonnie's voice seemed to boom from her small frame, "is dead."

A strange, familiar sound came from behind her, but Bonnie made no move to acknowledge it. Her sights were set. The cowering Original before her, bent back and body flailing in the wind. He moved to attack her but she whipped out her hand and held it flat up towards him. He stopped, paralyzed.

Bonnie met his eyes as she made a forward motion with her hand. He glanced down at his chest where he felt it – the pressure right above his heart. It started warm – like a touch or caress – against his skin. But it grew hot, and burning. Soon, his shirt was cinders and falling from his chest in a perfect circle.

Bonnie screamed as she curled her fingers forward and bulled. His skin melted in response. It dripped from his bones. Mikael gaped down in horror as she peeled his ribs back one by one. He gagged and almost threw up.

She smiled in response. A beautiful, ethereal smile. Victorious.

The noise sounded behind her again.

Bonnie pushed forward more strongly. Someone was coming to stop her! But she wouldn't let them. She would finish him. Finish this. _Punish him_. _Revenge_.

She reached forward with her other hand and began to pull his heart from his chest.

"Witches can kill anything they create," Bonnie informed him, "Your immortality comes from us. My kind made you," With the motion of her fingers, Bonnie began to peel back the walls of the organ, like she was slicing the skin from an apple. "And I can _un_make you."

Again, that noise!

Bonnie spared a glance behind her, expecting to see Damon. Expecting to see Stefan. Expecting to see anyone but… Klaus. Standing, slowly, upright. Groaning. Drowsy.

_Alive_.

Blue eyes met green.

"Bon…nie…"

A knowing. A partnership. A union. Klaus was alive, and they were going to be okay.

Bonnie gasped.

One gasp.

One hiccup.

One faltering moment.

But that's all he needed.

In that moment, Bonnie's resolve firmed. _She was going to kill Mikael, pulling on Klaus' strength. She was going to save him, if she could not save them both. She was going to kill Mikael or die trying. She was going to-_

**KB**

The sound of Bonnie's neck snapping was the loudest sound Klaus had ever, ever heard.


	26. One

**AN: The last chapter! Enjoy! Also, wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who supported this story, all the Klonnie love in your reviews, favorites and follows was very much appreciated. I hope this has been worth the wait, and guess what? We did it!**

**(Short epilogue to follow soon ****)**

_**One**_

_I do not belong to the spirits anymore!_ Bonnie's voice resounded in her own head. _I belong to myself._

When Bonnie opened her eyes, she was standing in a white room, surrounded on all sides by Bennett witches. The room expanded in all directions in stark whiteness: there was no wall, no floors – just the unending, blinding whiteness. All around her rose tall, white desks behind which sat her ancestors: dressed in white, their gowns billowing out behind them in a gentle breeze that Bonnie couldn't feel.

She stood before them, dead, ready for judgment, caught in the _in-between._

"She is not welcome here," a woman Bonnie didn't recognize said. She frowned at the young witch. Her voice was familiar, but distant.

"She made her choice," another voice sounded behind her. Bonnie whipped around to see familiar features on a woman she had never met or known, "And not she must live with the consequences."

"You cannot banish her from the spirit world!" a firmer voice said to her right. Bonnie turned then and met the sympathetic eyes of her mother.

"Abby!" Bonnie called out. "Abby, where am I?"

But her mother continued as if she couldn't see her, couldn't hear her. "I won't let you."

"Such banishment is not undeserved," the first witch spoke again, "She _should_ be stripped of her powers, considering how she has chosen to use them…"

"To protect someone she loves!" Abby conjoined.

"She loves a monster."

"Need I remind you," the voice of a woman, robed in gold, her hair in locks twisting all the way down to her waist, "Who created those monsters?"

"Ayanna," the first witch spat. She narrowed her eyes at her, "I should have killed you when you were just a babe."

"How many of our line have to suffer for your mistakes?" a third chirped in.

Ayanna's face grew solemn. "We each have our own role in keeping the balance, in our own lifetimes. You have, all of you," here she looked directly at a group of witches congregated to Bonnie's left, "reached beyond your own meager lives to direct the life of this one, young girl. The _last _of our line."

"Vampires saved quite a few of your descendants," Emily Bennett said from beside Ayanna. Her look, as always, was maternal and patient. She waved her hand at a young series of witches, including, Bonnie noticed with a gasp, her Grams. "Those charged with protecting the line, did so."

"She got what she deserved," the first witch said again. "She should have listened to us!"

"What did she expect, siding with such a monster?"

"No!" Bonnie screamed, but they didn't hear her. She watched as her voice reverberated around them, seemingly bouncing off of them. As if they were separated. _The in between._

"Now she will be cut off from her ancestors," another spiteful witch tried, "Just as she wanted."

"No," Bonnie tried again, her eyes hot with tears and fury, "Not my mom! Not my Grams…" She pounded against the barrier that separated them.

Suddenly, Sheila stood before the congregation. She appeared as imperious and determined as Bonnie knew her to be. "Bonnie Bennett," she said, "Will not pass to the Other Side today."

A collective gasp sounded.

Abby stood, too, taking Sheila's hand in her own. "We are a powerful line. We created the immortals. We are capable of giving life to _one of our own_."

"Do you realize," the first witch barked, raising up as well. She pointed an accusatory finger at the witches, "What you are asking of us?"

"Do you realize," Ayanna stood as well, and her voice boomed across the room, "What you took from her? Expected of her? Demanded that she do what you yourself could not! What none of you could," she turned to the other witches, who now cowered quietly in their seats, "For a thousand years?"

"You wanted her to kill Klaus," Sheila said, levelling the group with serious eyes. "And she has done better than that."

Abby said simply: "They are as one."

"He has not…" One of the meek witches on the left joined in, "Killed since…"

"He has not hurt any innocents," another said.

"Yet!" One witch jumped up and screeched vehemently. "Yet! Did you forget, Emily?" She turned her eyes accusingly, her hands raising up to pull at her own hair. "Did you forget, Ayanna? Have you all forgotten?" She screamed now, her eyes turning white: "What he did to me!"

"And what you did to her?" Sheila returned. "You tried to kill her! Your own descendant!"

"The ends justifies the means!"

"Not when she's my daughter, it doesn't." Abby said.

"Silence!" Suddenly, a tall, lithe witch in white warrior's robes, stood. She seemed to hover high above the rest. Her eyes were methodical, serious. Her hair fell to her knees in braids. She looked at the group and her eyes appeared to, finally, land on Bonnie.

_Qetsiyah._

Then suddenly, the world was dark. Empty. And cold.

And Bonnie was alone.

**BD**

"What… about Bonnie?" Elena asked, groggily coming to in the front seat of Damon's car. Her voice was hoarse as her vocal chords knit together, but with Damon's wrist to her mouth the entire ride over, she was healing fast.

"What about Bonnie?" Damon snapped back. Did she not realize what had just happened, what he had just done – to save her ass, yet again? What had to be done – not to Klaus, really – but to _Bonnie_?

"We can't just leave her," Elena's brows knit together as Damon spared her a glance from the driver's seat. She paused to draw more blood from his wrist as her energy waned, "with _them._"

"You mean, with Klaus?" Damon hedged between clenched teeth.

"He'll kill her," She said, resolutely.

Damon blinked at the brunette. "Maybe you should've thought of that before running to Mikael."

Elena turned to look at him now, disbelieving. "Mikael will spare her, if she gives him Klaus. Klaus will…" Elena nibbled on her lip, "Take her with him."

"She _loves _Klaus," Damon

"How could anyone love a monster like him?"

Glancing a final time at the girl beside him, Damon realized, as if seeing his life as a distant dream, that the girl he loved – the girl with the big, compassionate heart, with the ability to love so beyond herself that martyrdom was a given – was not the girl beside him, anymore. That was the girl he had left behind. The girl he had never deserved. Damon withdrew his wrist, letting the blood pool in his palm before the wound sealed shut.

Elena turned from him, looking sadly out the window, as if she had forgotten something important at some distance so far, she could not turn back to retrieve it.

**KB**

The air was drenched with death in the home the monster built.

Mikael had dragged Klaus in first, tied him to a chair with ropes dipped in wolf's bane. They cut into his skin, sizzling and burning, tearing the meat of his flesh, slowly but surely, to the bone. Then, he had stepped outside and brought in the lifeless, doll-like body of the woman he loved.

Klaus' eyes flew to Bonnie's form like a magnet. He watched her from over his father's shoulder. Listened for that precious, trembling heart. The little flame that proved she was still, somehow, magically, _alive._

But there was nothing. Silence.

Mikael glanced between his son and the dead witch in his hands.

"Ding dong," he said with a twisted smile. He dropped her carelessly to the floor. She fell with a clunk, her body twisting unnaturally. Her face, those hazel eyes still open, lay turned towards him. Her mouth lay slightly ajar, as if she were, even in death, calling for him.

"How soft you have become," Mikael scoffed at the tears that threatened Klaus' eyes. He gave the witch's body a swift kick.

"No!" Klaus screamed. He struggled against the binds that held him. The more he struggled, the more they cut into his flesh. And then, he struggled harder. "No!" he screamed again, not caring what words came out. _As long as he got to her. Bonnie._

Mikael laughed. Loud and jolly laughter. He tilted his head, observing his son. The clenched jaw, the wide eyes. He looked every bit the maniacal bastard Mikael knew him to be.

"You have no one to blame for this," Mikael said, extracting from his back pocket a small black package, "But yourself." He tapped it against his open palm once. Twice. He slowly approached his son.

"Yes, of course," Klaus spat at the man, his eyes never leaving Bonnie's form, "It's my fault your wife had to find comfort in another man's bed."

The slap that followed was punctuated with a silver blade carefully extracted from the black package. His cheek bleeding, Klaus' eyes flashed yellow as he bellowed out. Mikael grasped his fact between two ancient fingers, squeezing the skin to pull as much blood from the monster as possible. He let it pool on the knife. He let the wound close. Then he opened it again – more slowly this time, deeper this time, tearing up that face – the face of the man Esther slept with.

Klaus grit his teeth against the pain. His hands closed into tight fists on the chair, but he refused to yell out again.

Mikael retreated, pulling up a small chair – on which Klaus had read Amelia stories – and a side table. Reclining in the chair, he opened the black package, revealing various sharp, silver knives and other instruments – some fashioned after modern scalpels, some familiar to Klaus as coming from the Spanish inquisition.

"You see," Mikael smiled, "This has been a long time coming," He raised the edge of a particularly sharp, thin weapon. He ran the edge against Klaus' thigh, cutting the jeans and easily slicing through the skin. "Silver," he said, "Only the best for you"

Klaus' face was hard but unimpressed. "That's the difference between me and you," he said, "You're so… _indecisive._"

"I do like my options," Mikael agreed, extracting another, long, sharp dagger. This time, he plunged it into Klaus' leg. Right through the bone, the silver began to seep into his blood, and the wound grew black. The hybrid's amber eyes shot open, and he bit back a growl in the depths of his throat. His hands clenched, his muscles tensed. And with each movement, the ropes dug deeper into his skin.

"Just… kill me…"

"And reunite you with her?" Mikael taunted, pointing a knife in the witch's direction. He twisted the knife and Klaus, again, gritted his teeth. His breath was coming now in hard, fast pants.

"You will kill me," he said between breaths, "_anyway_."

"Yes," Mikael admitted. And here he took out the piece de resistance from his back pocket. A white oak stake. "But we have plenty of time for that." He smiled, "An eternity even. Besides," he continued, twisting the stake in his hands before setting it down far away on the table, "Why cut short such long overdue _father-son_ bonding?"

Now the dagger met Klaus' other thigh. Clenching his teeth, he leaned his head back over the chair, measuring his breaths. _He would not give him the pleasure of hearing him cry out again._ This was it. This was the end. The least he could do, the least he could ask for, was to get lost – again – in those memories. As the pain subsided, he opened his eyes and saw then that spot – that spot against the roof where he had once, passionately, made love. Been _loved._ He calmed.

"My father always said, there are many ways," Mikael's voice sounded before him, following by the familiar sound of knife against knife, "to skin a wolf."

_Bonnie's smile_. He saw it clearly still. In the morning, beneath the sheets, when he pulled her close – that lazily, sleepy smile. The way she clutched his hand and pulled it to rest against her heart, and cuddled in closer.

"Shall we prove him right?" The sound of sharpening knives ceased.

_Bonnie's laugh_. He heard it above the sound of wood on wood as Mikael pulled his chair closer. The way it burst from her chest, as if she had been surprised.

"Where to begin…" Mikael said, trailing the cold metal against Klaus' throat, "Perhaps with that traitorous _face _of yours…"

The knife nicked his chin, scooped it up just at his jaw line. Mikael slid it forward, grating deliberately against the bone.

Klaus screamed, but Mikael was quick to reach out and keep his face steady. All across his jaw, skin pulled loose. He felt it, warm and gooey, dripping down his neck and drying on his chest. When he reached the ear, Mikael gave a sharp, hard tug and wretched the flap of skin free. It fell to the floor.

Klaus' voice growled out of him in hard, quick breaths as he struggled to cope with the tingling, sharp pain. His eyes watered. He tried to see Bonnie. Happy. Smiling. Dancing. But there was nothing, _nothing_ but the pain as Mikael started on his pointed nose. Nothing, as Mikael took a long slice off of his clenched arms. Nothing but the pain as he finished by carving clear both the skin and flesh, and broke the bones, that held safe his dead, black heart.

"Ahh, there it is," Mikael taunted, tossing the knife to the floor at last. He reached for the white oak stake now, twisting it in his hands as he paced around the chair, "That desperate heart. So greedy for the most meager display of affection," when he was behind Klaus, he tugged his hair back, causing his back to arch, pushing his skin even further into the wolf's bane ropes that now danced, precariously close, to his bones, "So needy for love."

He let go of Klaus' head with a sharp tug and push that may have snapped the neck of a lesser vampire. Though his head hung low and his shoulders slouched, Klaus raised his chin enough to meet Mikael's eyes as he came to stand before him. "What need I of your wretched love," he let his head loll to the side, to the crumpled witch in the corner, "When I have hers?"

Mikael's laughter tore from him with such cruelty, he sounded more animal than his son ever had.

"_Had_ hers," Mikael corrected him. "Witches do pity poor, _pathetic_ creatures."

He raised the stake. He centered it above his heart.

And then, he froze.

Mikael's wild, uncomprehending eyes shifted from confused to desperate to angry.

_We were trying that spell I told you about_, Bonnie's voice came to him as if from a dream. He forced himself to turn in her direction, to cast his gaze where her lifeless body had once stood. _The paralysis spell_.

He craned his neck, felt the muscles and tendons tearing and snapping, the cuts and bruises protesting his every movement until there – from the corner of his eye, _there_ – he saw her.

**KB**

Bonnie rose from her death like a body possessed. Mikael's and Klaus' voices mingled in the air, but she couldn't decipher what they were saying. The colors in the room shifted and blended before her eyes, until she wasn't sure what she saw at all. Slowly, she rose to standing as one shadow paced around the other.

Klaus' pained voice pierced her thoughts and her eyes snapped towards the pair.

_Focus_, she thought. The word sounded in her mind even as the Latin spilled from her lips.

One hand whipped out before her, and she chanted the spell effortlessly. Mikael froze, mid lunge, the white oak stake held out before him aimed at Klaus. He was sweating. Bleeding. Torn flesh was visible, and scabs of skin littered the floor at his feet. His chest, arms and legs had been eviscerated in thin lines. He struggled against him, and the scent of blood grew stronger.

"Bonnie!" Klaus bellowed. Mikael's eyes grew wide at the thought. A sound – lost between a scream and a growl – erupted from his throat, even as his mouth was stuck in a grimace, teeth gritted and bared.

"You," Bonnie said, her voice echoing across the house. The lights flickered, and her hazel eyes grew white. Black veins twisted, extending out from her eyes, her lips, her hands. She brought her hands together and threw them apart with great force. "Are free."

The binds that held him broke, and Klaus fell to the ground. He grunted, shook his head, coming face to face with the instruments of his torture and the bits of his flesh and bone that had crunched under Mikael's heel. With a flick of her wrist, Bonnie sent Mikael flying against a wall. Her hand remained extended towards him, erecting a barrier through which he could not pass.

She ran to Klaus.

"Bonnie," he said, grasping her. He tried, again, to stand, but the bones in his legs were pulverized. The silver blades had sealed the wounds and kept them from healing. He tried to pull himself up on his arms, but the pressure caused his arms to snap and he fell, again, to the floor.

Bonnie screamed, falling to the floor herself.

_They are as one._

"Klaus," Bonnie cried, struggling to pull him onto her lap and into her arms. She gasped at the hole in his chest. It was visible: large, dark, and still. "Your heart!"

"I," Klaus coughed, blood coating his red lips. He gazed up at her, his eyes bright and blue again. His lips pulled into a horrific smile, "Told you I had one…"

"Klaus," she shook her head again, her eyes watering.

"You came back to me…" Klaus said, resting against her chest now. He closed his eyes. Death, like this, could be alright. Death, like this, was a blessing, a mercy. Compared to what he deserved, death in Bonnie's arms…

"Kill yourself." Bonnie's voice was barely above a whisper.

But that's all she needed. Forcing his eyes to open, Klaus glanced in the direction of Mikael. Bonnie raised her arm towards him, twisted her hand and watched as he did the same.

"No…" Mikael said, watching in horror as the white oak stake, still locked in his grip, turned to face him.

Bonne clenched her eyes against the pain. All over her arms, and legs, and chest, she felt the burn. Her thighs felt as though the bones were fracturing into a million pieces. She clenched her fists and focused.

"_Do it_," she managed to grunt out.

Klaus watched in horror as Bonnie's voice, raspy with effort, seemed to erupt from an exhausted body. Blood spilled from her nose, pooled in her cupid's bow and fell into her lips. She chanted in Latin, and it fell from her ears. Her eyes, white, began to rim with blood. Small vessels popped and poured. The entire time, she watched Mikael, and Klaus watched her.

The white oak stake pierced Mikael's heart in one sharp blow. No hesitation. No games.

He burst, first, into a screaming, ball of light, before petrifying and turning into ashen dust.

He was dead.

"He's… dead…" Bonnie said, blinking at the pile of ash behind the barrier. She clenched her teeth as sharp, hot pain began to sear her limbs.

"Bonnie," Klaus whispered, her chest heaving. He nuzzled her stomach, placed a kiss to her skin, and felt the burn of a terrible fever. She still muttered in Latin, her hands still clenched. He reached out to touch her and she screamed out in pain.

"It hurts," she sobbed, her body shivering, "I feel it… all…"

Klaus bit back the pain then, and, summoning all his strength, forced himself to sit.

"The silver," Klaus said, "Stops the wound from healing."

"How do I…" Bonnie said, between great breaths.

"Touch the wound," Klaus said, leaning his head back and clenching his teeth. "And spell it free. Pull the silver… out."

"Okay," Bonnie said. She raised her hands over Klaus' chest, resisting the urge to clutch at her own heart. She started muttering in Latin, and traces of silver slipped up from the wound, clinging to her palm. She kept chanting, and with each word, the wound seemed to begin to close a bit more. Bone began to grow, skin to stretch. With each word, the pressure on her own heart dissolved. Klaus clenched his fists, but did not groan or cry out.

"That's it," he said softly. When she healed his arm, he reached up to run it through her hair. When she slid closer, he turned to press his lips to her forehead. "That's my girl," Klaus cooed as her hands hovered over the wounds on his face.

"My handsome man," Bonnie said, the hazel in her eyes returning. As she healed him, the black veins seemed to fade away. Good magic chased away the bad. Death dispersed by life.

By the time she reached his legs, they were both exhausted and immobile. They lay on the living room floor, drenched in the stench of sweat, and blood and burned flesh, and held each other.

"You came back to me," Klaus said again, his voice softer now. His fingers on her cheek were a miracle.

"I would always…" Bonnie said, her lips brushing against his collarbone.

"I saw him snap your neck…" Klaus said slowly, his fingers tracing the aforementioned body part, as if to see if his eyes deceived him.

"He did."

"Bonnie, _how_?"

"I think…" Bonnie shook her head. "I think…"

"Your heart wasn't beating."

"I think I'm dead."

**KB**

"The spirits didn't want me," Bonnie said, her brow furrowing. In Stefan's oversized shower, Klaus scrubbed Bonnie clean.

When they were strong enough to leave it, Bonnie had burned the house down.

"I will build you a mansion," Klaus had promised her, pressing her fingers, in turn, against his lips.

Seeing the smoke in the sky, Damon had returned to find the lovers sitting there. Ragged, bruised, and barely standing straight, watching the flames like they were at a bonfire.

"What are you doing here?" Klaus had frowned.

"Brought the marshmallows?" Damon had offered lamely as he approached them. He surveyed the fire. "Seems like you need a place to stay."

"We do," Bonnie had said. Her arm was twisted around Klaus', their hands clasped at the ends. Covered in suit and dried blood, Damon couldn't tell where one began and the other ended.

"Just so happens," Damon had said, "Boarding house is empty."

Bonnie had raised a brow at that. Klaus smirked. But neither said a word as they accepted his offer with a simultaneous nod.

Now, from under the shower spray, Klaus peeled Bonnie's clothes from her body. The jeans fell to the floor with a wet plop. The shirt he peeled from her flesh, shocked at the bruises and scars that seemed to fall, in matching places, to his own. Whip-like lines that extended across his body from the wolf's bane ropes seemed to cut across hers too. He traced these wounds. First, with soap and soothing hands. Then with lips and whispered apologies.

His clothes came off, too. He cleaned himself as she stood, her back against the door, her mind filled with images and sounds she could not full understand.

"_How_," he had asked her again, pulling her tight against him. He rubbed her shoulders, and she leaned into his embrace.

"They were arguing… about whether to let me die, banish me from the spirit world and cut off the source of my powers…" she took a steadying breath at that. Klaus noticed that her pulse had not returned, and that these efforts of her lungs were more habitual than necessary. "or, send me back…"

"If you had my blood, you could've transitioned," Klaus said, his voice low and angry. He held her tighter at the thought of losing her.

"I wouldn't have had my powers," she reminded him.

"So now you're…"

"Dead," Bonnie said, choking on the word. "And not on the other side… But I can still draw on my powers, so I can still reach my ancestors and…"

"We are connected," Klaus finished for her.

"I am their tool to keep you in check," Bonnie laughed at herself. "Our deaths are entwined. I never meant it literally but… it seems… if you die, I die. If you're hurt, I hurt… If you hurt someone…"

Klaus' arms held fast around her waist. He lowered his lips, pressed a kiss against her scalp, and then let them find her ears. "To have you here… with me," he paused to kiss her again, "I will never hurt another human again. I will not risk my life, if it means risking yours. I will not…"

"Don't say things you don't mean…"

"Bonnie," Klaus spun her around to face him. She was struck by the stark sincerity in his watering eyes. "You saved me, in more ways than one. There is no world without you. Giving it up, then, to have you here, beside me, seems a simple bargain." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I never thought, never hoped… that this kind of happiness," he pulled her flush against him, her body molding easily into his, "could ever be mine." He leaned forward to lay a chaste, tender, grateful kiss on her lips. "You are my world, Bonnie Bennett."

Bonnie's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find the right words to say, to convey how she felt in this impossible moment… "We are one," she said.

"We are one," Klaus affirmed.

And, this time, their kiss was anything but chaste.

**KB**

From the confines of their new, temporary room, Bonnie and Klaus healed. Damon had given them the _Stefan Suite_, and access to all the blood and bourbon on the premises (for Bonnie, he eventually did some groceries). From the quiet of the house, Klaus noticed the young vampire's lingering stare at the revived Bennett witch. He must have noticed that her heart didn't beat. That her breaths were merely habitual. That she didn't have the reek of death. But, to his credit, he asked nothing.

After a few days, they fell into a simple routine. They made love in the morning, pausing to kiss, in particular, the spots where the most damage was inflicted. Bonnie grew fascinated with Klaus' heart, protecting it even in her sleep with a healing palm. Klaus, for his part, found her neck beautiful in its delicacy. The fragility of it, and the way it had defied nature to bring her back to him, was worthy of being lavished – daily – with kisses. And it didn't hurt that such kisses led to more intimate rewards.

They shared breakfast with Damon, when he was home. He had taken an active role in the arson investigation of the old Bennett property, and was exercising his compulsion muscles to ensure that the area was cleaned up and cleared out. Klaus was already handling the building plans.

Throughout the morning, they maintained their closeness – on the couch, in bed, in the hallways. They never stopped touching the other, ensuring that they did, in fact, exist. That they were, actually, safe. For neither had known that sensation before: safety.

No one hunted Klaus.

No one would harm Bonnie to get to him.

There was no impending rush at the end of the week that they had to train for, plan for, and avoid.

There was just them: two lovers, together, at last.

In the evenings, Klaus told Bonnie stories about the world, as he had seen it, as she sat in his lap, in the confines of his strong arms. He whispered them into the soft skin at the base of her ears, and traced the words onto the skin of her thighs. Some of the stories, she had seen in his memories. Some of them, were knew. But most of them were a sharp sort of familiar that came from knowing someone so well.

As they dressed for bed, Bonnie would regale him with her hopes and dreams. Things she had not dared to speak of before, certain that she would die young. She would build plans with him. They would make each other promises that they, now, were certain they would keep.

Then one day, Damon came home, and they were gone.

Stefan's room had been tidied, as if no one had been there at all. Bonnie's grimoire was comfortably situated in the library, and a single-lined _thank you_ on a post it was stuck to the bourbon. The only thing it took with them, it seemed, was the small globe on which they had spent hours chartering their future.

Now, inseparable. Now, one.


End file.
